Secrets Pt 1
by MrsMaxCarter2
Summary: After a good result Max and Millie go out for a drink together. The realize how much they like each other and end up going out on a date and soon they become official. Neither of them want to be station gossip and Millie doesn't want people thinking she is moving up in her career because of Max so they keep their relationship a secret... but is that the only secret the two have?
1. Chapter 1

**Millie  
** Today I was going to be working on a serious assault case with Max in CID. The reason I was chosen was because when the call came in of the assault I was first on scene and built up a rapport with the victim, Charlotte Daniels, she was only 19 years old and had beaten up by her boyfriend, Josh McKenna. Violently. She was still in hospital recovering from her injuries, she had her head slammed multiple times into a wall, Josh jumped on her stomach whilst she was on the floor, he tried to strangle her and he broke her wrist. It was shocking to know that there are people in the world that would do that to another human being… let alone your own partner. It was a horrible thing and Charlotte wasn't sure if she wanted to pursue it, she didn't want Josh coming back to hurt her more because she had given a statement and because I had built a rapport with her Max wanted me to try and get her to pursue it. It would be a tough thing to do but hopefully I can show her the light and prove to her that there are many amazing men out there that would die to have a girl like her.

Max had been working hard at the station to try and track Josh down, he tried to visit Charlotte in hospital but he ran when he spotted me. I tried going after him but I lost him and Max has been throwing everything we have into finding Josh and arresting him for Charlotte's assault. CID don't normally get involved with domestic disputes but after seeing what Josh did to Charlotte, Max said he wouldn't mind mucking in and getting Josh of the streets. I think everyone was shocked that he had an interest as he isn't the warmest of people or the most approachable person. Mel calls him the 'Ice Man' but I don't think that's very fare. He is a good copper and he is proving it by spending so many hours on Charlotte's case, I think maybe explaining to her that CID don't normally get involved but have on this occasion might help convince her to make a statement.

I arrived at the hospital and went to Charlotte's room. She was just sitting in her bed staring at the white wall opposite her, I cleared my throat to let her know that I was there. She jolted back to reality and I greeted her with a warm smile, she smiled softly back at me and I took a seat in the chair next to her bed "How are you feeling today?" I asked her.

"I feel worse today then yesterday… I feel more achy. How is that possible?" She questioned.

"Normally when something like this happens it hurts more the day after. Its when all the bruises are visible and the aches and pains set in" I told her.

"Are you here to get me to make a statement?" She asked.

"If you don't want to make a statement then I can't force you but I want you to understand how much better your life would be if you did. Josh would be in jail, he wouldn't be able to contact you at all… he wouldn't even be able to send you a letter. He will be off the streets so that he cannot do this to you or anyone else ever again and hopefully if you make a statement to send him to prison, he will get help there for his anger" I explained to her "You are a very beautiful and intelligent woman. You have your life ahead of you and there are so many men that would die to have you on their arm… don't let this one person ruin everything for you" I added.

"What if he comes looking for me before you can arrest him?" She asked.

"You will have round the clock protection until he is caught and believe me when I tell you he will be caught" I told her "CID don't normally get involved with cases like these because it's classed as a domestic. They go chasing killers, drug dealers and warlords but one of the detective sergeants… Max… he is on your side and throwing a lot into your case. He wants to get Josh for what he did to you" I told her.

"Why does he care so much? What makes my case so unique that CID got involved?" She questioned looking confused.

"Max saw what Josh did to you and he doesn't want that to happen to you or anyone else, he wants to put Josh away for a very long time for this and I do too. We can't do that without you. I know it is a lot to do but I think you are strong enough to do it, Josh is a nasty piece of work and there is nothing to say he wouldn't do this again" I explained "Max has a lot of people out there looking for Josh so it is just a matter of time before he is caught and arrested" I added.

"Can you promise me he will get sent down for a long time?" She asked.

"I can't promise you a ten year sentence but I cannot see any judge in this country letting someone like Josh back out on the streets. He is a dangerous and violent criminal, we will do everything we can to get him the biggest sentence for what he did to you" I answered.

"Ok… I'll make the statement" She told me.

"You will?" I questioned and she nodded "You are amazing. Ok what I will do is call DS Carter… Max… explain what happened here today and he will come down and the two of us will get a full statement off you. As this is a traumatic event I suspect the your statement will be recorded and then we will get it typed up, bring you a copy, you read through it and make sure everything is right then sign it. That's it" I said to her.

I excused myself from Charlotte's room and made the call to Max "DS Carter" He said as he answered.

"Max it's Millie… Charlotte has agreed to give a statement" I told him.

"That's great" He replied.

"I think it maybe better for her if we do a recorded statement. I think she is still a little hesitant about giving this first statement, I can't see her going through this over and over again" I explained to him.

"Ok that's fine. I'll grab a recorder and make my way down there" He said.

When Max arrived at the hospital I took him to Charlotte's room and the two of them met. It was the first time Max had seen Charlotte's injuries in the flesh and I think he was a little taken back at how bad they were, pictures can be deceiving. I explained to Charlotte again about the recorded statement and asked her again if she was up to giving it, she agreed she wanted to help put him away. We got started.

"Ok Charlotte, can you tell us what happened two nights ago?" I asked her.

"Me and my boyfriend Josh McKenna were at his flat. We had gotten a takeaway at my favourite Chinese place and Josh had brought some vodka for us to have a night in. I'm not a big drinker and only had two drinks and then some water, Josh kept drinking and drinking. A friend of mine called Michael text me to see if I wanted to meet him and some of our other friends out at a club. Josh saw the text and thought I was cheating on him" She explained and she started to get choked up. I got her some water and she took a sip before carrying on "We argued and I tried telling him over and over that I Michael was just a friend, we had been friends since Junior school but he didn't believe me. He called me a dirty little whore and slapped me round the face" She said and there were tears streaming down her face.

"Just take your time" Max said.

"He pushed me and I fell to the floor. He got on top of me and slapped me some more and punched me. He called me all sorts of names and I begged him to get off but he wouldn't. He stood up and jumped on my back as I tried to crawl away from him, I managed to get to the wall and I pulled myself up so I was sitting up and he slammed my head into the wall a few times" She explained.

It was heartbreaking to see her so distressed and to hear from her own lips what had happened to her. I wouldn't be surprised if she stayed off men for the rest of her life, I probably would. Charlotte explained after her head was smashed into the wall she passed out and doesn't know what happened but she woke up in hospital. We asked her a few questions about Josh, where he might go to hide, who his friends and family were, if he had ever done it before or shown signs of aggression before.

"Ok Charlotte what will happen now is me and Millie are going to go back to the station and get this typed up. I will get officers to go speak to his friends and family as well as check his local haunts. When the statement is typed up Millie will come back for you to sign it… is that ok?" Max asked.

"Yeah" She replied.

"You did really good… you should be proud of yourself" I told her "A friend of mine, PC Ben Gayle, he is on your door. No one is allowed in or out without his permission. If you need anything then you let him know" I told her and she agreed.

Me and Max went out to his car to go back to the station "You did really well with her, well done" Max commented as we go into the car.

"Thanks Sarge" I replied happily.


	2. Chapter 2

**Millie  
** After me and Max got back to the station I went to the writing room and wrote up Charlotte's statement, it was tough listening to her retell her story. I got it all written up and printed out a few copies so we had a copy for Charlotte to sign, a copy to show in the interview to Josh when we arrested him and a copy me and Max can make notes on if we need to. I had to go back to the hospital to get Charlotte to sign her statement but before I did I wanted to go and see Max, I wanted to thank him for all the time and effort he's put into Charlotte's case and I also wanted to know why. As I said before, CID don't get involved in domestics… why was this case so special? I wanted to know more about Max and why he was the way he was. Surely there had to be a reason for him being so cold sometimes, he wasn't born this way.

I went up to CID and found Max at his desk, I handed him the other copies of Charlotte's statement which he logged and put in her file "Is there somewhere that we can talk?" I asked him. There was no one in the CID briefing room so we went in there and we took a seat next to each other "You can tell me to keep my nose out if you think I'm being to nosey but I wanted to ask. CID doesn't get involved in domestics… why is this one so important that you have been working so hard on it?" I asked him.

"There are a few reasons. Josh is a very hostile and violent person, the sooner he is off the streets the better and Charlotte is a nice girl and she's only 19. She deserves more and I don't want her thinking that all men are like that or that's all she deserves" He replied.

"But why Charlotte's case? Hundreds of domestic calls come in every year like this… why Charlotte's case?" I questioned.

"Because she reminds me of my sister" He replied "When my sister Karolina was 20 she got with this bloke, he was a nasty piece of work. Really controlling and aggressive but that was behind closed doors. In front of a crowd he was the loving boyfriend and Karolina looked really happy, they would talk about getting their own place together and then getting married. I used to go out drinking with him because I thought he was a good bloke… anyway… about 18 months after they got together I noticed some bruises on her arms, her cheek and her neck. I asked her what happened but she wouldn't tell me. Three weeks later she died in hospital after he beat her to death" He explained to me and I was in shock.

"Max I'm really sorry. I never should have asked, it was your business" I told him.

"It's not a bad thing to talk about. I was a PC at the time and although I wasn't officially involved in the case, I was working with CID to get that little bastard and I did. He was locked up for life and that was all well and good but it doesn't bring Karolina back… the day Charlotte got attacked was the 10 year anniversary of Karolina's death" He explained "I know it sounds silly but I think I was supposed to be involved in this case, bring Josh down and make sure Charlotte doesn't end up like my sister" He added.

"Well I am really glad you caught him… sounds like a complete douche bag" I commented.

"Oh he is, although he used to be the best thing since sliced bread… so Karolina used to say. He used to bring my mum flowers, he learnt Polish to impress the family, we used to go out together drinking and I taught him to drive" He told me.

"On the plus side he is going to rot for what he did to her and you're the one that brought him down… your mum must be proud of you" I said.

"When I told her that he had been arrested she cried and hugged me. Told me she loved me and she kept thanking me like I had done her a favour. Karolina was my baby sister, I wasn't going to let her killer get away with it" He told me "After I arrested him it felt good and I knew he was going to be walking the streets again but I couldn't help but feel envious that he got to live, albeit not a great life in his cell but he was still alive and my baby sister was in a coffin underground. It didn't seem fair" He told me.

"Is that why you joined CO19? To kill the people like Karolina's boyfriend?" I questioned.

"I think so… I told myself it was to help save the city but I think in the back of my head that was why I joined them" He answered.

"Sarge, if you ever want to talk to someone about Karolina or about anything in general then you know where I am" I told him with a warm smile.

"Thank you" He replied.

After Max's revelation I was in shock and I noticed he didn't name Karolina's killer. Max just kept referring to the killer as 'he' but I guess naming the killer probably makes it all the more real. It was a sad and tragic thing that happened but it also made a lot of sense, it answered a lot of questions as to why Max was the way he was… why he wasn't sympathetic with suspects of violence, maybe he sees Karolina's boyfriend in all of them. I could never imagine losing a sibling or anyone in such a nasty and violent way, no wonder Max was a little messed up.

I went back to the hospital and told Ben to take a rest whilst I was here as I would keep an eye on things, he seemed a little hesitant and made me promise to call him on the radio if there was any trouble. I promised him I would and he left, I entered Charlotte's room and saw two older people sit in the chairs… it must be her parents "Millie these are my parents, Julie and John" Charlotte said and I shook hands with them.

"Hi, I'm PC Millie Brown from Sun Hill" I introduced.

"Charlotte has told us everything that you have done for her and I cannot thank you enough for it. I know you haven't caught him yet but she said something about CID getting involved and they don't normally" Julie said to me.

"Yes. DS Max Carter from Sun Hill CID is on the case. They don't normally get involved but Max heard Charlotte's story and saw what Josh did and he decided that he wanted to help bring him in and get him sent down. He's leading a search party as we speak to a known haunt of Josh's" I explained to them "The reason I came here is for you to sign your statement. It's all typed up. Before you sign it I want you to read through it carefully and make sure everything on there is right and then sign and date it" I told Charlotte. I put the statement in front of her and handed her a pen. She read through everything and then she signed and dated it, I took it back off her and smiled "You should be really proud of her, she's done great" I told her parents.

"We are… we couldn't be more proud" John said.

"We don't want Charlotte going back to that place, especially since Josh isn't caught yet. I was wondering if it would be ok if she came to stay with us" Julie questioned.

"That would be fine but I do need to take down your contact details in case we need to speak to Charlotte… is that ok?" I asked and they nodded. Julie wrote down her address, landline number and also her mobile number as well as Johns.

"Great. That's all I need for now. We will be in contact when Josh is arrested and we will keep you in the loop. Don't forget that you can give me a call anytime you want, day or night, you have my number and I also have you details in case I need you" I explained "Paperwork will be sent through to you, just to confirm everything that's happened and also so you have copies of it all as well" I added.

"Thank you… for everything" Charlotte said.

"It's fine. Hopefully we'll be in touch soon to tell you we've got him, you take care" I told her.

"Can you thank Max for me. I know how hard he's working" She said.

"Of course" I replied.

When I got back to Sun Hill I went up to CID to tell Max that Charlotte was staying with her parents and to update her file but he wasn't there. I was about to ask Mickey where he had gone when the doors to CID opened and in walked Max "Ah Millie, I was looking for you. We have a definite sighting of Josh… I thought you would like to be there when we make the arrest" He said.

"You bet" I replied.


	3. Chapter 3

**Millie  
** When me and Max arrested Josh he was hiding out at his friends place. His friend heard what happened and called us on the sly to hand in him, there was only a small team of us but we raided the house and arrested Josh. It wasn't an easy arrest as he tried to put up a fight and he nearly whacked me one but Max intervened and tackled him down to the floor, the cuffs were put on him and he was taken out the house kicking and screaming. I knew he would be a difficult one to arrest and Max said I could do the interview with him but I had a feeling that it would be a no comment interview.

Whilst Mel checked Josh into custody Max pulled me aside "Are you ok?" He asked me.

"Yeah Sarge I'm fine, thank you for what you did back there" I replied.

"It was nothing. Can't have a PC getting whacked on a raid I'm leading… Smithy would crucify me" He said to lighten up the mood a little.

"He would never let you live that one down" I told him.

"DS Carter?" Smithy called out. Me and Max walked back over to the custody desk "He's refusing a solicitor. Do you want to interview him now or put him in a cell first?" Smithy questioned.

"He's a bit volatile at the minute. Put him in a cell to cool off" Max replied.

"Volatile?! You just nicked me and if that stupid mare comes near me again I'll go for her again, believe you me" He said and indicated to me.

"Oh shut up or we'll add threats to a police officer to that ever expanding list of yours" Max told him.

Me and Max went into the CID briefing room to go over how we would do the interview and how much evidence we would actually reveal to him. We didn't have to tell him all of the evidence we had against him, we could tell him about the signed statement by Charlotte and that be that then when it all comes out in court he wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Max was going to lead the interview as it's clear Josh has a thing against woman and doesn't like them very much, with me being in there we're hoping to bring out his real self… prove what he's like to women.

Max decided he wanted to bring up the threat he made to me in custody in interview so it was there on tape and he would be questioned about that as well. I think Josh knows that it's not looking very promising for him and that's why he didn't get a solicitor, he knows it won't do him much good. He knows he is going down and no on could get him out of that. He wasn't in a gang or anything so I doubt he could give us information on a drugs ring or something to lesser his sentence… he was doomed.

Once me and Max had everything that we needed I went to set up the interview room whilst Max went to get Josh out of the cells. When he came into the interview room Max showed him to his seat and Max took a seat next to me "Interview starting at 18:23. Present are DS Max Carter and PC Millie Brown of Sun Hill Police Station and suspect…" Max said and indicated for Josh to speak.

"Joshua Jamie McKenna, date of birth 2nd December 1990" He answered.

"Suspect has refused legal representation" Max added for the tape "Now Josh, let's talk about what happened two nights ago at your flat" He said.

"Not much. Me and my girlfriend got some food and drink. Had an argument and it got out of hand" He replied and you could tell he wasn't really bothered by what was going on right now.

"Out of hand? You jumped on her back and slammed her head into a wall… multiple times. You also fractured her wrist. That's more then a little out of hand" Max stated.

"Could be worse" Josh replied.

"What was the argument about?" I asked.

"I'm not answering to you" He answered.

"Why? Because she's a woman?" Max questioned.

"Yeah… don't like women all that much. Too mouthy, they never know when to shut up" Josh replied.

"So you hate women, you're violent, take drugs I assume and Charlotte wanted to go out with you? What was it she saw in you? You're dynamic personality? Your generous and kind nature?" Max questioned but Josh went quiet "C'mon Josh… what was it that first attracted Charlotte to you?" He asked.

"None of your business" Josh replied.

"You're a coward aren't you Josh? She stood up to you and she wouldn't shut up so you gave her a few slaps but she went on and on didn't she? You wanted to shut her up… when you beat her up, did you want to kill her or just teach her a lesson?" Max questioned.

"If I wanted to kill her, she'd be dead" He answered.

"Cause you're the hard man aren't you Josh" Max stated.

"I bet I got bigger balls then you" Josh said to Max.

"Did you think Charlotte was cheating?" I asked him.

"I don't answer to you. I just said that. Are you stupid or something?" He asked me.

"I'm not scared of you Josh… Charlotte isn't scared of you either anymore. In fact I think she's dumped you and moving on with her life" I told him.

"She'll come running back" He said.

"She's given us a signed statement telling us what happened that night. That doesn't sound like a girl who's waiting for your return. I think she will be glad to see you in prison, so you can't hurt her anymore" I told him and leaned forward over the table a little bit.

Josh sat there in silence for a few seconds and the leaned forward on the table as well. Out of nowhere his hand came into contact with my face, it stung and I heard Max's voice "For the benefit of the tape, Josh has slapped PC Millie Brown round the face with the back of his right hand" He said "Interview suspended at 18:28" The tape was turned off and Max went round the table to Josh and led him out the room.

I grabbed the tape and evidence before leaving the room. I saw Max stood at the custody desk with Josh and was further arresting him for assault on a police officer. Smithy said he would handle it and Max came over to me "Thank you" I said.

"It's ok. Lets get you checked out by the FME and photographs of your injuries" He told me.

The FME looked at my face but there was only a little scratch there but she cleaned it for me and Max took a couple of photographs as evidence. The second part of the interview Max decided he would do himself, I decided to watch what was going on in the viewing room… of course that was after I had assured Smithy that I was fine. It was nice to have all of these people worry about me, I wasn't used to it as I was a single child and I only had two cousins and they were both a lot younger then me.

After a 45 minutes interview Max finally got Josh to admit everything he did to Charlotte and why he did it, he told Max he thought Charlotte was cheating and he wanted to prove to her he wasn't a 'mug' and he beat her up. Max asked him why he had hurt me and Josh said that I was too mouthy and also needed to be taught a lesson about how to speak to a man. He was such a charmer.

Max spoke to the CPS and they advised that he be charged with ABH as well as assault on a police officer. As Max went to charge Josh I went and gave Charlotte the good news, she was ecstatic. I did explain to her that we still had to go through court to get a conviction but it was looking positive, she kept thanking me over and over again and telling me thank Max for her. She was a sweet girl, she promised me that she would behave herself, keep out of trouble and focus on university for now. I explained to Charlotte that because we had closed the case didn't mean I was going to stop being there for her, if she still wanted to call me she could and she could pop in and see my anytime.

As I was heading out the station a car pulled up along side me, I looked in to see Max "You fancy a drink? Celebrate?" He questioned.

"Sounds good" I replied and got into the passenger side of the car "Charlotte and her parents told me to thank you for everything you did" I told him.

"You did good today Millie, you should be proud of yourself. You got a good future ahead of you as a cop" He said to me, another compliment off Max Carter? What is the world coming to?


	4. Chapter 4

**Millie  
** Max pulled up at this nice looking pub and I was worried that I was a little underdressed but the two of us went in, I grabbed us a table as Max went to the bar and ordered us some drinks. I watched Max at the bar and how he spoke to the bar staff, he clearly knew who they were and vice versa meaning that he was a regular here maybe? The place did look like Max's style. It was a quiet out of the way pub that advertised home made food. The people in the pub were mostly wearing suites or office attire, I looked down at my jeans and top and felt very underdressed… oh well I was here now and I was with Max. I was not going to give up the opportunity to get to know him a little better. He came back to the table with a wine for me and a beer for him, I had him down as a whisky man myself "I take it you're a regular here, everyone seems to know you" I commented.

"Yeah I only live round the corner, I come in here most days to be fair. Beer if it's a good day and a whiskey or two if it's a bad day. They also made a blinding dinner in here, I mainly live on ready made meals at home. Not a woman in sight to make me a slap up meal and my mother refuses to cook for me now I've moved out… unless it's a Sunday roast of course" He explained to me and it made my smile, Max had never opened up to anyone at work I don't think… why was he all of a sudden answering all of my questions without an argument, it was weird but I wasn't going to tell him to stop.

"So tell me, do you miss CO19 or do you like it in CID?" I asked him.

"Well CO19 is very disciplined and organised, CID is sometimes a little chaotic. It was a different work environment for me and it took me a while to get used to it but it's the norm now. I do miss CO19 when we get called to shouts and there are firearms involved… brings back the adrenaline for me, you know? When I see my old CO19 buddies I miss it but I think I would miss CID a lot more if I left" He answered.

"Even Stuart?" I asked in a teasing voice.

"Ok maybe not Stuart" He replied.

"He's not so bad" I told him.

"You try sitting with him for a day, he does your bloody head in" Max said.

"Everyone says that you're not very nice or approachable but you can be. You proved that the last couple of days with Charlotte's case, you know some people call you the 'Ice Man'" I told him as I sipped my wine.

"You don't have to cover for her, I know it's Mel" He replied and I laughed a little and he joined in.

"Does it bother you that people think your mean when you're not?" I asked.

"Not really. Working in CO19 has taught me to turn my emotions off or keep them in check. If I had to shoot and kill a target, I would be no use to them if I had some sort of rapport or connection with them. I know I can be a little harsh and horrible sometimes but it's just how I like to get the job done, I don't like sitting around and relaxing like Mickey and Jo… although they get great results, it's just not me. I like to go in hard and fast to get the job done right" He explained "Don't get me wrong I can get emotionally involved like I did with Pawel Jankowski but that makes my job harder… I'm judged by all of them no matter what I do" He added.

"I guess that makes sense" I commented.

"You're still a PC and finding your feet but the sort of copper you show you are that sticks. Beth for example, she's a soft touch so that's how she will always be seen" He told me.

"I don't know what sort of copper I am yet" I said.

"I do. You're a passionate one and you stand up for what you believe. The Jade Hopkins incident told us all that and although you probably know the police handbook from cover to cover you proved you can show your own initiative… that's good" He told me.

Me and Max had a few more drinks together before I decided to call it a night as I knew we both had work in the morning. Max only lived round the corner but I don't, he's been drinking and can no longer drive. Guess I was going to have to call a cab, I hated getting in cabs this late a night… to me everyone was suspicious. The amount of cabbies I have arrested for sexual assault or theft was ridiculous "Let me call you a cab" I turned to see Max with his phone out.

The two of us went to wait outside for the cab, I asked Max if he wanted to share the cab and it could drop him home on the way but he said he would be fine walking. When the cab did pull up, Max spoke to the driver as I got opened the door to climb in "I will see you tomorrow" I said.

"See you tomorrow" He replied and we looked at each other for a few moments before he placed his lips on my cheek and then he walked away.

Once I was changed into my uniform I went to the briefing room and took a seat next to Sally and Mel, they were gossiping about something "Morning" I said.

"Morning, we heard what happened in the interview with Josh yesterday. Are you ok?" Mel asked.

"Yeah I'm fine" I told them.

"Alright you lot, quieten down" Gina said "Ok today we are doing outstanding warrants. We have a lot to get through and only a couple of days to do it, unfortunately due to low numbers today every team has got more then three warrants each. I know it will be a lot of work but Neil Manson has promised everyone a round in the pub if we get them all done in time" She explained to us.

For today's shift I was being paired up with Mel, she was the most chatty person I have ever known in my life. If there is any gossip around the station she will know about it, the girl doesn't know how to keep a secret but she has a big heart and I couldn't imagine Sun Hill without her "So what was it like working with Max yesterday? The two of you seemed pretty cosy" Mel questioned.

"Stop trying to find gossip, there isn't any" I told her.

"You're no fun" She replied.

The first person on our list was Jakub Rominski. He was a Polish man who was wanted for theft, he didn't show up for court and now he had a warrant our for his arrest. Thankfully it was a quick in and out job, he was at home with his wife, the problem was he spoke no English. Mel looked at the notes and every time he has been arrested he has had a translator with him, I cautioned him in English but he didn't have the faintest idea what I was saying.

When we got to the station with him we tried contacting a translator but it would be 4 hours before someone was available "Millie go and ask your boyfriend if he will help us out" Mel said.

"He's not my boyfriend" I replied.

"Go and ask him please. He'll say no to me" She told me.

"You sound like you're in junior school" I stated before going up to CID. When I got there Max was at his desk and it looked like he was doing some filing "Sorry to interrupt Sarge but I was wondering if you could do me a favour?" I questioned.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Me and Mel arrested a Polish man on theft, he doesn't speak English and a translator will be another 4 hours. I know you're really busy but I would really appreciate if you could give us a hand" I pleaded with him.

"As you asked so nicely" He replied "Are you sure he can't speak no English? He's just not putting it on?" He asked as we left CID and walked down to custody.

"He has previous and he has always needed a translator. I cautioned him in English but I don't think he understood a word I said" I informed him.

"Ok" He said and then he stopped "Look before we go in there I wanted to speak to you actually, about last night" He started and I urged him to continue "I had a lot fun and I think I had forgotten what it was like to go out, have a few drinks and let loose. I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner on Saturday night?" He asked and I could have sworn he seemed nervous.

"Erm… like a date?" I questioned

"Yeah… like a date" He replied.

"Ok, that sounds great" I answered with a smile.

"Good" He said and the two of us awkwardly turned around and started heading back towards custody.


	5. Chapter 5

**Millie  
** I had my date with Max tonight and to say that I was nervous would be a complete understatement. When we went out for drinks the other night I didn't really class that as a date, it was just two colleagues going out to celebrate a good day. Now it had a label which made it that little but more scary but I was hopeful at the same time, I mean it was Max that had asked me out to dinner so he mist have an interest of some sorts for me. I hated first dates, they were so awkward and uncomfortable because you don't normally know the other person all that well. I was hoping that this date would be ok as me and Max know each other quite well already… then again it was a first date.

If the pub that me and Max went to the other night was anything to go by then it would be a really nice place we would be going. I had asked him where but he wouldn't tell me, he told me it was a surprise and to be honest I wasn't that keen on surprises, too many things can go wrong. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to wear for this date as I wasn't sure where we were going or how fancy it was. Obviously I knew I couldn't wear my jeans and top again, it had to be a little more classy then that but I wasn't sure what.

Eventually I decided on an outfit, my black and gold skirt with a black blouse tucked in. My black heels matched with my gold clutch bag to bring out that little pop in colour. My hair was left down in natural waves and my make up was subtle but covered everything that needed to be covered, I looked in the mirror and I think I looked ok… obviously I would have to wait for Max to tell me I look ok and see what he was wearing so I knew that I would be ok for the date. I packed everything I would need into my clutch bag and it was just in time, the buzzer went off.

I was ready to go so I told Max I would be down in a moment. I locked up and made my way downstairs and once in the car park I saw Max leaning against his car. He was wearing a suit, without a tie and the top two bottoms undone… he looked good. I approached him with a smile "Wow… you look great" He said and greeted me with a kiss on the cheek, I smiled and thanked him in response. He opened the door for me to get into the car and closed it after me then rushed round to his side of the car.

"So do you plan on telling me where we're going?" I questioned.

"Can you hold out for another ten minutes?" He asked and I nodded.

When Max stopped he pulled up outside a beautiful little Italian restaurant. It was a little out of the way and I had to be honest it looked really cosy and romantic, I was excited to see what they had to offer. Max opened the car door for me as well as the door to the restaurant, he approached the podium and gave his name. Me and Max were shown to our table right away, we were sat at the side with a window view. It was generally quiet for a Saturday night.

"You been here before?" I asked.

"A couple times, they have really good pasta" He replied.

Who had he been here with "How did you find it? It's really out of the way" I commented.

"My parents used to come here" He told me.

"Ah Mr Carter, how are you and the lovely lady today?" A man with a very strong Italian accent asked.

"We are very well thank you" Max answered.

"I am Franco, the owner" He said to me and held out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Millie. It's very beautiful here" I told him.

"Oh well thank you… anything you two want, it's on the house" He said.

"Oh Franco don't be silly" Max replied.

"Mr Carter here helped me out with some people looking for protection money. I had been her for 25 years and they wanted protection money now… I told them no and Mr Carter here got rid of them for me. He helped me and my family feel safe again, anything on the house for him" Franco explained to me.

I had to admit the date with Max was going a lot better then I had expected it to be. We seemed to flow easily in conversation and we didn't talk too much about work, we learned more about each other's past and what we want from our futures. We seemed to have loads to talk about but this time we kept the drinking to a minimum as it was a little out of the way, we had to drive back. We didn't need to be drunk to have a conversation, I would say that was an accomplishment for a first date.

True to Franco's word we wasn't allowed to pay for anything but Max left some money on the table as we left and gave Franco a wink. We decided we would go for a little walk around the area as there was a river nearby, thankfully these heels were comfortable so I didn't mind the short walk to the river. Once there me and Max found a bench to sit on, we sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Max spoke again.

"You know I've had a really good time tonight. I wasn't sure how it was going to pan out but I'm glad we came" He told me.

"Me too. I thought it would be awkward and a lot of alcohol would be involved but it was the complete opposite. Thank you for tonight, it's amazing. The best first date I've ever had" I said.

"Well that's good to know. As it has been an 'amazing' first date… maybe you would like to go on another date?" He questioned.

"Yeah I would" I replied with a smile.

"Great… I did want to talk to you about something before this… whatever this is… goes any further" He stated and I didn't like the sound of it too much.

"As you probably know. I'm quite a private person, I don't like my business being spread around the station and especially with Mel and Sally… the biggest gossip spreaders ever" He said and I couldn't help but laugh a little "I was wondering if we could keep this quiet" He told me.

"I was thinking about that too. I don't want people thinking I'm moving up in my career because of who I'm dating and like you, I don't want to be office gossip. I think it is best to keep things quiet" I replied.

"I don't want you to think that I wanted to keep you a dirty little secret or anything, I just prefer keeping my private business… well private" He explained.

"It's fine Max, I understand" I said.

Max looked me in the eyes, I couldn't take my eyes off him. I never realised how blue his eyes were before but they were beautiful. He leaned forward as I did and our lips met in our first kiss, it wasn't a make out session or anything. It was just a sweet and loving first kiss and I had to admit, as far as first kisses go it was pretty good. He didn't want to seem to rush things or anything which was what I was worried about… I didn't want him to think I would be an easy target so he could get laid but I don't think Max is like that.

It started getting a little cold so Max gave me his jacket and we started walking back towards the car so we could go home. Once again he opened the door for me and closed it, like a real gentleman and he then drove me home. It wasn't a particularly long drive as there wasn't much traffic on the road as it was Saturday night, when we got to my place Max opened the door for me "Thank you for tonight, it was amazing and I cannot wait to see what you pull out the bag for date number 2... It has to be good though if you want to top tonight" I challenged.

"Don't you worry Millie, I have some tricks up my sleeve" He told me and smirked.

"Ok well. I better get in, I will see you at work I guess" I said.

"Yeah I will see you at work" He replied.

We stood in silence for a moment before he leaned in and kissed me again, he had his hands on my cheeks holding me there, I wrapped my arms around his waist and we kissed. This time it was a proper kiss and when we pulled apart I had to suck in a breath "Goodbye" I said and walked into my building. As the door closed behind me I realised I still had Max's jacket, I rushed out to give it back to him but he had already gone… I will just have to give it back when we go on our second date. I can't bring it into work to give to him, that would require me answering some very awkward questions I would rather not answer.


	6. Chapter 6

**Max  
** Tonight was date number two with Millie and instead of taking her out somewhere I was going to cook us dinner and serve it on my balcony, which you can see The London Eye from and other London trademarks. It was a beautiful view I had to admit which is what pushed me into buying the apartment, everyone that had been here had commented on the view and they all told me how lucky I was to have such a good view and I couldn't disagree with them. The people below my floor didn't get the view, they just got trees or they could see just the top of The London Eye or something… they didn't have the best of views.

Things with Millie were going surprisingly well, I couldn't complain. We had decided to keep out work lives and private lives separate, if we had a bad day at work then we decided to leave it at work. Although this was officially date number 2 we had seen each other outside of work to just chill out and talk a little, we only went for a couple of walks round parks and things like that. Stuff you couldn't consider a real date. It seemed to be going well and Millie seemed to be happy with how things are going with us, I was worried that she would see we were two completely different people and she would decide that I wasn't the man for her but I believe I was. I was going to let her go easily.

I made sure dinner was nearly done and the apartment was nice and tidy for her… I didn't want her thinking I was a slob. On the balcony I had put a small table with two chairs, put a white table cloth over it and lit a candle, thankfully it wasn't a windy night so the candle should stay lit. I poured two glasses of wine and set them out too and just in time. The buzzer went off and I let Millie in the main door and opened the front door for her and stood out so she would know which apartment was mine.

When she reached me we greeted each other with a kiss and I let her in, I took her coat off her and she held up my jacket "You forgot to take this back" She told me and I thanked her "This is a great apartment, a lot of space" She said as she had look around "So, what do we have planned for date number 2?" She asked.

"We are going to have dinner on my balcony… I have an amazing view and I have to admit I'm not a bad cook either so hopefully you will enjoy yourself tonight" I told her.

"Ok Mr Cocky" She said with a grin and made her way out to the balcony "I have to admit you do have a very beautiful view" She commented.

"Please sit down and make yourself comfortable, dinner is now ready" I said to her and when she was sat down I rushed into the kitchen to put the dinner on plates. It wasn't an amazing meal I cooked it was a chicken dinner that my mum guaranteed would make a good impression on a girl, once it was dished up I brought it out to Millie "Here you go" I said and placed a plate down in front of her.

"Did you cook this? All by yourself?" She questioned.

"Yeah, thanks for the vote of confidence" I replied with a chuckle.

"Sorry. I just didn't have you down as a cook that's all. I just hope it tastes as good as it looks" She said and took a bite "Well I have to admit that it is a very tasty dinner, well done" She said and took another bite.

Me and Millie spoke over dinner and she told me about her family. She was an only child and her parents were called David and Jennifer, David used to be a police officer and retired when he was Detective Chief Inspector about 5 years ago and Jennifer used to be a midwife. She had a happy childhood although a little bit lonely as she was a single child and her cousins were younger, I think that's why she is a little quiet and a she's quite happy in her own company.

"Did you always want to be a copper?" I asked her.

"Yeah I did. My dad used to come home and tell me stories about the people he had helped that day, he would tell me how happy the job made him and you could see it made him happy. He loved his job and so I decided to give it a go, my mum wanted me to be a midwife like her but I saw my aunt give birth and it wasn't the best site… put me off a little so I decided to stick with the police work" She explained to me "What about you? Did you always want to do this?" She asked.

"Actually no I wanted to be a property developer like my dad, he owned his own business and I wanted to do that but then I looked into policing and I realised how much I could help people. How I could make a positive difference to people so I decided to go with that. My dad was a little angry at first but he came round and my mum still asks me if I want a career change, I think she worries about me" I told her.

"My mum calls me everyday to make sure I'm still alive" Millie stated.

"Mum's worry about their children, my mum is the worst for it. The bombings a couple of years ago that killed Emma… she was going crazy and wanted me to come home straight away so she knew that I was ok. She phoned me constantly but I can't say I blamed her" I said to her.

"Do you think they will ever stop?" Millie asked.

"Mothers are mothers" I replied.

"I thought you would have settled down by now, maybe got married" Millie told me.

"Why? Am I that old?" I questioned.

"No" She replied "When you first look at you, the first impression you get is a hard working man in a nice house with a nice wife who will have dinner cooked by the time you get home. You don't come across a single man who eats ready made meals" She explained to me.

"Is that a good thing?" I asked.

"For me it is" She answered as she took another sip of wine.

"I thought you would have had a steady boyfriend… you're a very beautiful woman and very strong and caring, I thought someone would have snatched you up by now" I told her.

"I go on dates and stuff but the police officer thing normally has them running a mile away, if they don't bolt after that they normally bolt because of the hours I do. They're not the most sociable work hours and they get fed up of me coming up with excuses" She explained.

It started to get a little cold so I blew the candle out and took everything back inside. Millie closed the doors to the balcony and I told her to make herself comfortable on the sofa, she sat down as I poured us some more wine. I switched the TV on and put it on a music channel for some background music, Love Me Like You Do came on by Ellie Goulding and Millie stood up "Come and dance with me" She said.

I put my glass of wine down and stood up. I wrapped my arms around Millie and pulled her close to me, she rested her head on my shoulder and we swayed slowly in time with the music. I could hear Millie singing along softly to the words and I couldn't help but smile. I had to admit Millie was a good dancer, she knew what she was doing and she wasn't that bad a singer either. Is there anything that this girl can't do? She was amazing.

"Millie?" I questioned.

She looked up at me and I leaned my head down to catch her in a kiss. She kissed me back straight away, it was a very passionate kiss that seemed to go on and on… not that I minded. I pulled her that little bit closer and she didn't seem to mind, actually she put her hands to my waist and gripped onto me as we kissed. As the kiss deepened the music had finished but neither of us had taken notice. We walked backwards until we fell onto the sofa, I sat down as Millie straddled me as we still kissed. My hands went to her bum and hers went to my chest, the kiss got more and more heated as time went on, it didn't look like we were going to be stopping anytime soon.

Millie started unbuttoning my shirt and I was shocked but I let her continue doing what she was doing, my hands went up to the top of her dress and I started undoing the zipper. I did it slowly in case Millie decided that she didn't want to do this yet and she wanted to wait but she didn't protest "Let's go to my bedroom, it's more comfortable" I said to her and she simply nodded.

As Millie stood her dress fell from her leaving her in a strapless black bra and some matching black lacy underwear, she looked breathtaking. I held my hand out to her and she took it without hesitation, I walked to my bedroom and once in the room Millie closed the door and went over to my bed. She laid down on it and was waiting for me to make my next move. I took my jeans off so I was only left in my boxers and I joined her on the bed. We started kissing again and our hands roamed each other's body to get a feel for what each other likes and I don't like.

I laid on top of Millie and placed kissed down her cheek and neck, she breathed out a small moan so I continued what I was doing. I expertly undone her bra with one hand and threw it across the room somewhere before putting my lips to hers once again, her hands went to my back and she started to go down to the waistband of my boxers. She slipped her hand in and started pushing them down, I helped kick them off and then I did the same to Millie, I took her underwear off for her and looked down at her. She smiled at me sweetly as she leaned up to kiss me.


	7. Chapter 7

**Millie  
** I fluttered my eyes open and it took me a moment to remember where I was. I sighed happily as all of the memories of last night cam flooding back to me, I looked over in the bed and saw Max still shirtless and still fast asleep. The sheet was pooled around his waist and he snored ever so lightly, I had to admit I liked this feeling of waking up next to Max. I decided that I was going to be a little nosey and have a look around, you can tell a lot about a man by the way he lives but I was a little gutted that his bedroom was quite plain. The walls were a creamy colour and he had a black wardrobe with matching black drawer set but the bed sheets were white and he also had a black out blind that was white also, he had laminate flooring which I knew would be cold when I got out of the bed.

Making sure I didn't wake Max I slipped out of his bed and put on my underwear and his shirt from the night before on top. I left the bedroom and closed the door behind me so I didn't disturb him and went to the bathroom to freshen myself up a little bit. His bathroom was quite spacious but again with white walls, a white cabinet that I guess held all of his hygiene things and black tiled floor… again very plain. After freshening myself up I went into the kitchen which was by the front door and joined on to the living room. It made the apartment look more spacious which I like. Nothing was worse then a small apartment.

As Max treated me to a beautiful dinner last night I decided that I was going to make him breakfast, it was only fair after all. It took me a while to find everything I needed but once I did I was away, I didn't want to make anything that would use too much of his stuff so I stuck to something simple… bacon, egg and toast. I heard the door to the bedroom open and sighed, I was hoping he would stay asleep and I could wake him up with breakfast in bed. He ruined it.

"Wow. Something smells good out here" He commented as he walked into the kitchen and greeted me with a kiss.

"Well after you made an amazing dinner last night I thought I would treat you to an amazing breakfast because I do make the best breakfast, if I say so myself" I stated.

"Sounds good to me" He replied "Do you want a coffee or anything?" He asked as he opened a cupboard to get a mug out.

"Coffee sounds good" I said as I put breakfast onto a couple of plates.

As it was a nice morning we decided that we would eat our breakfast on the balcony, Max brought the table and chairs back out. I grabbed the plates with food on and Max went back for the coffee, we sat in a comfortable silence as we ate. We didn't really need to speak because I think everything we wanted to say or felt was done last night, now we just wanted to enjoy each other's company without tip toeing around in case one pushes the other or something.

"I have to admit Millie, that was an amazing breakfast" Max said as he took his last bite.

"Told you" I replied with a smile.

"I want to talk to you about something and I don't want you to panic… it's nothing bad. I promise. I just want confirmation really. Are we together now, like officially?" He questioned and I had to admit that he seemed really cute when he was shy. Who would have thought that 'cute' would be a word to describe Max… ever.

"Well after what we did last night I think my feelings for you are pretty clear. I don't normally do sleepovers until the fifth date… at least so you should feel very lucky" I teased "I would like to make us official but as we discussed before, I want to keep it between us as I don't want to be station gossip" I told him and he nodded along with me.

"I agree with that and trust me I do feel lucky. Last night was… amazing" He said.

As me and Max didn't have work that day we decided to spend the day together but I needed to go home and get changed and showered. Max said he would come to my place and we could have a chilled out day at my place, watch a couple of movies, make some lunch/dinner and enjoy each other's company and I had to admit… it was the perfect plan.

I told Max to make himself comfortable in the living room and help himself in the kitchen to whatever it was that he wanted whilst I ran to the shower, I wasn't in there long. Only 10 minutes or so and I didn't bother drying my hair I just tied it up and threw on a pair or jeans and a vest top. I didn't need to dress up to sit in my apartment and Max has seen me naked, I don't think he really cares what clothes I wear.

When I was dressed I went back to Max who was sitting on my sofa drinking a cup of coffee "That was quick" He stated as I sat down next to him.

"I only needed a quick shower to freshen up a little" I replied.

"Ok, so what do you wanna watch? I've looked at your DVD collection and I have to admit it is pretty big" He told me.

"Well as you can see I am into all sorts of movies, what do you like? Action? Comedy? Drama?" I questioned.

"I do like an action movie" He answered.

"Well I do have the new fast and furious movie if you wanted to watch that" I suggested.

It was agreed that we would watch fast and furious which was a movie we both liked and we were both eager to watch. It was 11am when we put it on so by the time it finished it would be lunchtime and Max said he had the best idea for lunch so I was excited and eager to find out what that was. Together we sat on the sofa, Max had his arm around me and I leaned into him. It was comfortable and it felt right, God if Mel could see the 'Ice Man' now I wonder what she would say… well I can imagine it would be a lot of stuttering and disbelief.

The end of fast and furious was sad and I had to blink back my tears, I didn't want to cry in front of Max just yet "I know the best pizza place in town. They deliver and have every topping you could ever want in a pizza, what do you say we order for lunch?" He questioned "I have the JustEat app on my phone so you can have a look at what you want to order" He said and handed his phone over to me.

Once we ordered I went to the kitchen and started getting a couple of plates out and put them on the kitchen table. My sofas were white and only 6 months old, I didn't want to get any stains of pizza grease on them… I have done well with them so far and I am just hoping it stays that way. As I was setting the table up the front door knocked and once Max made sure it was only the pizza guy he answered the door and brought back the food to the kitchen.

I had to agree with Max that it was a really good food place and the pizza was amazing. I had a BBQ base with spicy chicken, bacon, pepperoni and ham. Max had some monster pizza that looked like it had hundred different toppings but I had to say, his pizza was a little healthier then mine… not that I cared.

Me and Max spent the rest of the day together watching movies cuddled up on the sofa and eventually I showed him my bedroom and what we did in there was for us to know. Sadly Max couldn't stay the night as he had an early start at work tomorrow so after saying goodbye to each other and I cleaned up from the day we had I had nothing to do and I was bored. I had really enjoyed my day with Max.

 **Max  
** I walked into CID with a smile on my face, the last couple of days have been great with Millie and I had to say that she was more amazing then I thought she was. She was a great cook, great taste in movies and she was everything a man looked for in his woman, I know it's a little early as we haven't been together long but I had to say that she was wife material… hopefully one day me and Millie will be in that place so we could take that step.

"Morning boss, you're looking very pleased with yourself this morning" Terry commented as I sat at my desk.

"Just had a good couple of days" I replied.

"You got a good seeing to is what you're saying" He stated.

"Now Terrence I am not one to kiss and tell" I told him with a cheeky grin.

"What's going on?" Mickey asked as he approached us.

"The boss got a good seeing to" Terry told him as he walked over to his own desk.

"Anyone we know?" Mickey asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know" I answered.


	8. Chapter 8

**Millie  
** Myself and Nate were helping out CID with a serious assault case. Max was SIO on it and to be honest I was a little nervous about being on a case Max was in charge of now that we are a couple. I wasn't sure if he was going to treat me any different or if he would be a little mean to me like he is to everyone else, obviously we don't want everyone knowing about us but at the same time I don't want him being mean to me to make some sort of point. I wasn't sure if he was going to push me out a little bit so I wasn't involved with all the nitty gritty stuff because he would be worried about me, it was hard to know which way this was going to go but I guess we will have to see.

I walked into the CID briefing room with Nate and we took our seats, Max gave me a small smile as I sat directly opposite him and then once everyone was seated and paying attention, he went to work and explained the case to us. A bloke called Lewis Tyson heard a couple arguing and the bloke was trying to push his partner down an alleyway. Lewis stepped in and ended up getting stabbed for his troubles, he is laying in hospital unconscious as we speak and the doctors are not sure if he is going to make it or not. Mine and Nate's job was to get witness statements, check the CCTV and see if we can find out who the couple were. Max and Jo were going to wait for the victim to wake up, get his statement and then take him thought WADS to see if he can point anyone out.

Basically me and Nate were doing all the donkey work whilst CID get the well done for the result, it had always been like this and it will probably never change. Whilst everyone filed out to do what they were supposed to do Max called me back, Nate said he would meet me by the car and closed the door behind him "Sorry I didn't know when we would next get a chance to speak, I was wondering if you fancied another sleepover tomorrow night, I know you're not working and I have a late shift so I don't start till 3pm" He told me.

"Ok that sounds good" I replied with a smile, I could see it in Max's eyes he wanted to kiss me but he didn't want people noticing. I was holding a file and pretended to drop it, Max bent down to 'help' and we shard a kiss then "Good plan" He commented.

When I got down to the car Nate was leaning against it waiting for me, Nate got in the drivers side and pulled out "What did he want?" He asked me.

"He had confirmation on the Charlotte Daniels trial, he was just making sure I was ready for it. He doesn't want to lose this one" I replied.

"It was weird he got involved in a domestic" Nate stated.

"Yeah but I pretty much working the case alone so I think he thought he would give me a hand" I told him.

"Nice of him" He commented.

When me and Nate got to the scene of the crime we had a look around and saw a taxi company that had CCTV cameras on the outside as well as a bar opposite the alleyway. Nate took the taxi company and I took the bar, I walked in and saw a couple people cleaning up obviously from last nights party "Can I help you?" A woman behind the bar asked.

"Yeah I'm PC Millie Brown from Sun Hill. Can I ask who you are?" I questioned.

"I'm Tracey, manager here" She replied.

"Ok. Last night there was a serious assault in the alleyway opposite your bar, I was just wondering if your CCTV outside pointed in that direction at all" I explained to her.

"Honestly I'm not sure I didn't set the camera's up. Deon my head of security did, he knew what angles to put them best and so on but you're more then welcome to have a look" She said "The person that was assaulted, are they ok?" She asked.

"At the moment it's a bit touch and go. You wouldn't happen to know if anyone saw a couple arguing by the alleyway last night? Did any of your door staff or punters mention anything?" I questioned.

"I wasn't here last night, I was at a drink launch. The best person to speak to would be Deon, he'll be here in a few hours if you wanted to call back. He was out there for most of the night. I know one of the doorman didn't show up because Deon called complaining about it, Deon said he was going to step in for the night and leave the head barman, David, in charge inside" She explained.

"Ok I'll probably come back later to speak to them" I answered.

I had a look at her CCTV and saw that one of the cameras just catches the entrance to the alleyway, the picture quality wasn't great but it was the best we had so far, I made sure I could take it and made her sign for it before leaving. Just as I left the bar Nate was leaving the taxi company, no one saw anything last night and their camera doesn't go as far as the alleyway "Lucky for you that the manager of the bar does have CCTV covering it and she has welcomed me back later to speak to Deon her head of security, he was out there most of the night" I told him.

"Gold star for you" He teased as we made our way back to the station.

When we got back to the station we made our way to the viewing room "As I got hold of the evidence, you can start going through the CCTV and I will let CID know where we are" I told Nate who rolled his eyes and nodded at me, I smiled as I left the viewing room and went in search of Max. I found him sitting at his desk looking someone up "Deon Jones?" I questioned as I read it.

"You know who he is?" Max asked.

"The bar opposite the alleyway has a Deon that works there, head of security. I spoke to the manager, Tracey, now she wasn't there last night as she was at a drinks launch. Deon was on the door and outside most of the night as a doorman didn't turn up and a bloke called David was in charge of inside the club" I told him "How did you come across him?" I asked.

"It wasn't a couple arguing last night. A girl came in just after you left, Jane Talbot. She was out with her friends and a doorman asked her to leave, they went outside to have words. The doorman told her that she could go back in if she slept with him, other wise he would plant drugs on her and call the cops… that's when our have a go hero turned up. She gave us a description and picked him out from WADS. He was form for violence and one sexual assault a couple years ago but the charges were dropped" Max explained and moved over so I could see Deon's wrap sheet.

"Well I would definitely say that he's a prime suspect" I stated.

"Yeah me too" He agreed "Get Nate in the briefing room in ten minutes" He said.

I went and told Nate what Max told me and we made our way up to the CID briefing room, we were the last people to arrive "Ok after knowing what we now know, Deon Jones is our main suspect. We're going to get a warrant to search the bar he works at as well as his home, I want to him them at the same time so he can't get rid of anything. He has got form for violence so I want everyone to keep their wits about them, Millie did the bar manager say when Deon would be in?" He asked.

"No Sarge, she just said in a few hours" I answered.

"Hopefully he's going to be at home and he can't warn anyone that we might be coming. I want him arrested quick and interviewed as soon as possible. Try and find the clothes he was wearing last night, they are probably in the wash already or have been washed but you never know. Also look for anything that could link him to drugs, he threatened to plan them on Jane Talbot so he must have a stash somewhere" Max told everyone.

"Do you think he could be working with someone? Maybe David the barman, he was in charge last night and Jane said she reckoned she was removed under his instruction" Jo suggested.

"What would he gain from Deon sexually assaulting her or planting drugs on her?" Max questioned "At the moment we focus on Deon" He stated.

"Millie I want you to come to Deon's place with me and Jo. Nate I want you to go through that CCTV until you find something. Mickey you and another couple of uniform Smithy has ready for us go to the bar and remember, we wait for my signal to raid" He said and everyone was dismissed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Millie  
** Me and Max have been together now for 4 months and we still haven't told anyone at work about our relationship and a little part of me felt bad for keeping it from my friends but at the same time, I was glad to be kept out of the spotlight and out of the station gossip. Today was a big day for me and Max as I was going to meet his parents for the first time, he was due to meet my parents next week at my mum's birthday BBQ although my dad didn't seem too excited to hear I was bringing Max. My dad had not being looking forward to meeting Max, he knew we had been together for a few months and he was a copper which is what I think he hates the most. I know he used to be a police officer himself but I think he wanted me to be with a doctor or lawyer or something, but he knows I'm happy so I'm hoping that counts for something.

I was nervous about meeting Max's parents because from what he had told me was his mum was quite the matriarch. She was in control and if she didn't like you then you would know about it, she wanted Max to find a nice Polish woman to bring home that would be a housewife for him. I don't think she was happy to hear that I wasn't Polish or housewife material, I was a career woman. His dad sounded quite chilled out and relaxed so I was hoping I would get along with him, Max kept telling me that everything was going to be fine but I knew something had to mess up. Nothing was ever straight forward, look at mine and Max's relationship. We worked in a huge station full of gossipers and we had to keep it a secret.

The only time I had met boyfriends parents was my first real boyfriend in university. Jake Kelly and that hadn't gone all too well, his mum hated me, his dad didn't even look at me and his sister couldn't believe that her brother was dating a red head… they wasn't he nicest of families and I tried my hardest but his mum made comments every time I was there about not being able to make my own choices in life which was why I was becoming a police officer. She thought my parents had pushed me into it and one day I snapped at her, me and Jake argued, I told him it was over and left. He had a new girlfriend by the end of the week so I reckon he had her lined up already, wouldn't surprise me to be honest.

It was a nice day and I wanted to wear something summery but nothing too short as I didn't want his parents thinking that I was a slut or something. I decided on a blue summer dress that was just above me knee, it had a butterfly pattern on it and it seemed ok for a 'meet the parents' dinner. I put my hair up and put on some make up but not too much, I put on some black wedges and decided to use my black clutch bag. I think I looked ok but I would need Max's assurance, he would know if his parents would think I looked good enough for their son.

I walked out into the living room where Max was patiently waiting for me, we had a sleepover at my place last night so he brought his clothes with him and he was ready ages ago. He was wearing a white shirt and some grey pants which I'm sure he normally wears to work, I like those trousers on him as they make his butt look really good "I'm ready… I think" I said to him as I stood in front of him.

"I think you look gorgeous" He stated. He stood up and kissed me "Don't panic so much, everything will be fine and you will see how silly you're being for panicking so much" He told me.

"It's quite a terrifying thing for me, I have to prove to your mother that I am good enough for you" I stated.

"You are more then good enough" He replied and kissed me again "We better go or we will be late, the reservation is in half an hour and traffic is bad" He said.

We finally got to the restaurant, it was a Hungry Horse restaurant so it wasn't too fancy and they served a variety of food so I'm sure everyone will be happy here. I had come here a couple of times with Max and we had always had good food, hopefully today will be no different "Stop panicking" He whispered to me as we approached the table his parents were already sitting at "Mum this is Millie, Millie this is my mother Paulina and this is my dad Kevin" Max said and introduced us.

After all the introductions were done I sat down at the table and Kevin went and got drinks for everyone, Max said he was going to give him a hand so I was sat here with Paulina, I smiled sweetly at her but she didn't smile back "Max is doing very well at work, you must be proud" I said to try and cut some of the tension, hopefully if I tell her how amazing her son is she will warm up to me.

"Yes very proud" She replied and she had a Polish accent but it wasn't very strong, it must be all these years in England "He says you're a police officer as well" She told me.

"Yeah I am, I finished my probation about a year ago. Now I can hopefully move up the ranks and get to where I want to be" I replied.

"I thought Max wanted a housewife, not a career woman" She stated.

"Maybe he decided he wanted something different" I answered and she scowled at me a little bit but thankfully Max and Kevin came back with our drinks. Max put one hand under the table and squeezed my thigh comfortingly "Kevin, Max tells me you're a property developer" I said.

"I was, retired now. I had to sell the company as there was no one to take over" He said and indicated at Max before turning to face me again "I got it for a good price and it's in good hands" He told me "I heard you're still a PC" He stated.

"I only finished my probation a year ago so I'm still a little new. Hopefully I can work up and in the next few years I will be in CID and getting to where I want to be" I explained to him.

I seemed to get along really well with Kevin. Me and Max spoke a lot to him about work and he told us about a holiday him and Paulina were going on. Paulina sat there in silence for most of it apart from talking to Max about how he doesn't come to see her very much anymore, he told her that he was really busy at work but she kept looking at me like it was all my fault. So it was clear that this woman didn't like me and she didn't think that I was good enough for Max, just as I thought she would.

After dinner was over Paulina told Kevin that she needed to go home to get some housework done so after we all said goodbye Kevin left with Paulina, I turned in my chair to face Max and have him a grumpy look "I told you your mother would hate me. She thinks it's my fault you don't come and see her and she wants you to have a housewife, not a career woman. She hates me" I told him frustrated.

"She doesn't know you yet that's all, once she gets to know you a little more and she sees how happy I am with you she will soon lighten up, I promise" He told me and gave me a peck on the lips "Do you want another drink before we go?" I shook my head in response.

I just wanted to go home now and take all this rubbish off. Get into my sweatpants and vest top and put a movie on. Both me and Max were working early tomorrow so we wouldn't be having any sleepovers tonight and we wouldn't be for a few days. I know Max had a lot on in CID, they were working on a people smuggling case and he was SIO so he was in charge and very busy. He was a little stressed out at the moment as things in the case were not moving along as he had hoped, they had been on this case for about 6 weeks and there had been progression but not a lot.

Most people in CID were working on the case and if there was anything that we needed to hand over to them then there was only a couple of people available who wasn't working on it. I had been into CID a few times and I'm sure Max hasn't even noticed that I was there, I had tried speaking to him about a couple of things but he just kept telling it would have to wait because he was busy. When we did see each other he would apologise for being short with me and he would buy me dinner to make up for it, I couldn't wait for this case to be over and done with so I could get Max back.

Max dropped me home and I invited him in but he said he had to go so I kissed him goodbye and made sure I had my bag before going in to my building, I went up to my apartment and let myself in, I kicked my shoes off before letting my hair down. I made my way into my bedroom and dropped my bag down in the bed and I undressed myself then put on my comfy clothes and wiped my make up off. Today had been horrible and I would be quite glad if I never had to see his mum again, I think his mum would be happy if she never saw me again either. She clearly didn't like me and I don't think that was going to change anytime soon, no matter what Max says.

My phone rang loudly in my bag and I saw Max's name on the screen "Hey" I said as I answered it.

"Hi, I just wanted to make sure that you were ok" He said.

"Not really. Your mum doesn't like me Max, when you and your dad when to the bar she told me she thought you were looking for a housewife, I replied with you had changed your mind and I'm telling you if looks could kill I would six foot under. She thinks I'm not good enough for you, I really wanted your parents to like me" I explained to him and sat down on the edge of my bed.

"My mum is tough I know but she only wants what is best for me. You are what is best for me and I told her that but I think she needs to be convinced" He replied.

"Look I'm gonna go and watch a movie or something then go to bed, you should too. You're back on that people smuggling case" I said not wanted to continue this conversation anymore.

"Millie-" He started but I cut him off.

"Goodnight Max" I said and hung up.


	10. Chapter 10

**Max  
** It wasn't until Millie hung up the phone that I realised how much my mother's opinion actually meant to her, I mean I knew she wanted to make a good impression but I didn't think she would be this upset after everything that happened today. I know my mum can sometimes be a little harsh and come across really strong but that is just who she is and that's where I get it from, I have told Millie time and time again that as long as she is happy and we're together then that's all I care about. I don't care what people have to say about us. We're happy and that's final but I feel like I needed to speak to my mum about everything that happened today with Millie as I wanted her to know that Millie is what I wanted and I was very happy with her. Hopefully I can swing my mum round and she will give Millie a chance like my dad can, he seemed to get on well with her and was interested to know more about her and her family, which was nice for me. I was glad that she got along well with my dad but now I had to work on my mum.

I grabbed my phone and called my mum's landline and thankfully it was her that answered "Hello?" She questioned as she answered the phone.

"Mama to ja, Max" I said to her. **(Mum it is me, Max)**

"Oh Max, czesc. Nic ci nie jest?" She asked. **(Oh Max, hello. Are you ok?)**

"Tak, jestem w porzadku, Millie jest bardzo zdenerwowany. Ona mysli, ze ja nienawidzic" I told her. **(Yes I am fine, Millie is really upset. She thinks you hate her)**

"Nie nienawidze jej. Po prostu nie sadze, ze to prawda dziewczyna dla ciebie. Co jest portzebne jest mila zona do domu do kazdej nocu, ze ponies swoje dzieci I opiekowac sie" She replied. **(I do not hate her. I just do not think she is the right girl for you. What you need is a nice wife to come home to every night that will raise your children and look after you)**

"Nie jestem jeszcze zonaty zaczyna. Ja I Millie razem od kilku miesiecy. Nie planujemy tylko jeszcze dzieci lub slub. To prosze dac jej szanse dla mnie? Uwielbiam ja" I pleaded with her. **(I am not getting married yet. Me and Millie have only been together for a few months. We are not planning babies or weddings just yet. Will you give her a chance for me? I do love her)**

"Jestem tylko patrzac na ciebie I upweniajac sie, ze jestes zadowolony" She said. **(I am only looking out for you and making sure that you are happy)**

"Mama, Millie czyni mnie szczesliwym. Bardzo szczesliwym" I replied. **(Mum, Millie does make me happy. Very happy)**

"Przed spieszyc sie z nia… to jest jeszcze jedno Helena I wy kiedys narrowed dobrze razem. Nie mozna dac mu dwa kolejne odejsc?" She told me. **(Before you rush into it with her… Helena is still single and you two used to be really good together. Can you two not give it another go?)**

"Nigdy nie kochal Helena. Bylem tylko z nia, poniewaz ja kochal I myslalem, ze bedzie dobry mecz dla mnie, ale ona nie byla" I confessed. **(I never loved Helena. I was only with her because you loved her and I thought she would be a good match for me but she wasn't)**

"Ale byly zaangazowa ne!" She exclaimed. **(But you were engaged!)**

"To bylo to, czego chcial ode mnie. Zerwalam z Helena I odwolal slub, bo jej nie kocha. Byloby to sprawiedliwe mnie sie z nia ozenic, kiedys nie czujesz to samo zrobila" I explained. **(That was what you wanted from me. I broke up with her and called off the wedding because I didn't love her. It would be fair of me to marry her when I did not feel the same she did)**

"Nie wierze, ze to wszystko" She said in shock. **(I cannot believe all of this)**

"Szukac bedziemy off topic troche tutaj. Dajcie szanse Millie" I stated. **(Look we are going off topic a bit here. Just give Millie a chance)**

"W porzadku. Jeden odiad. Jesli nie podia mu sie, ze to jej po… trudne nie bedzie zmienic zdanie" She replied. **(Fine. One more dinner. If I do not like her after that then tough… you will not change my mind"**

"to wszystko pytam. Teraz musze isc tak musze wsrac wczesnie do pracy. Dobranoc mama. Kocham Cie" I told her. **(That's all I ask. Now I have to go as I have to be up early for work. Goodnight mum. Love you)**

"Dobranoc Max. Tez Cie kocham" She replied. **(Goodnight Max. I love you too)**

After I spoke to my mum I started thinking about Helena. When we were together we were a couple that looked like we belonged together if you were going by looks but I just wasn't in love with her, my mum thought she was the best thing to ever be put on this Earth and so I asked her to marry me. As the wedding drew nearer I started thinking about what I was really doing, did I really want to be with Helena for the rest of my life? Wake up to her every morning? Get tied down so early with marriage and babies? The truthful answer was that I didn't so I sat Helena down and confessed everything. She told me she hated me and smashed a few things up but I let her go ahead as I had just broke her heard.

There was no doubt in my mind that Helena loved me and she would have done anything that I had asked her to do but I wasn't in love with her. When I told my mum me and Helena had split up she obviously questioned why and I just told her it wasn't the right time. She was really gutted and called Helena straight away to see how she was and that she was still welcome round anytime she wanted, the last I heard Helena was going to move back to Poland to care for her grandmother who I understand is very sick and needs round the clock care. Maybe she hadn't gone or maybe her Nan had died?

I was shocked to learn that Helena was still single. She was a very beautiful woman. She was tall and slim with dark hair and dark eyes to match, she was in proportion with herself and she knew how to handle herself. She knew what made her look good and she didn't care what anyone else thought of her, if she liked it she would wear it. She was a headstrong woman but she wanted a husband that would take care of her financially so she didn't have to work and she could stay at home with the babies. I wasn't ready for all of that and especially with Helena.

Me and Millie had spoke about ex's before but I hadn't told her that I was engaged to Helena just that we were together and it wasn't very serious. I don't know why I didn't tell her we were engaged, I guess I didn't want her to freak out start thinking that I could have been married to someone else. Being engaged to someone normally means you are head over heels in love with them and you would do anything for them, what I feel for Millie now is what I should have felt with Helena. I didn't want to scare Millie off and she had never really had a serious relationship from what she told me. She only had two serious boyfriends and then me, the first one ended because of his parents and the second one ended because he cheated.

Millie hadn't had much luck in the romance department but now I was here and I was going to make sure that she knows how much I love her and what I would do for her. What I feel for Millie, I have never felt for anyone else before and even though we haven't said the three magic words yet to each other I have a feeling that Millie loves me too. I don't think she would still be with me, sleeping with me and introducing me to her parents if she didn't love me and think this was going to be for the long haul. I picked my phone up and called Millie, I really wanted to speak to her "Hello?" She said as she answered, I also heard a yawn.

"Hi it's me. Did I wake you up?" I asked her.

"No it's ok I was just turning this movie off… what's up?" She asked me.

"Well I spoke to my mother and I told her how happy you made me and she decided that she would give you another chance, I think she feels a little guilty about making assumptions about you and she is willing to try again if you are" I explained to her.

"Fine, I will meet her again but if this doesn't work and she still doesn't like me then I'm not going to make the effort anymore" She told me.

"That's understandable. I was wondering if you wanted to come to my place tomorrow after work? I can make us some dinner?" I questioned.

"Sure. Sounds good" She answered.

"Ok well I better go. Goodnight Millie" I said.

"Goodnight Max" She replied and the line went dead.


	11. Chapter 11

**Millie  
** Max wanted me to go round to his for dinner tonight and I think it was because he felt a little guilty about how things had gone with her mother. I had tried my best with her and I was polite, considerate and I treated her with respect and in return I just got nasty looks and ignored. I don't think she was ever going to like me and I could deal with that but I don't want Max's relationship with his mother to suffer because of this. They seem really close and I don't want to get the blame for that as well, at dinner yesterday she hinted that it was my fault Max hasn't been to see her lately. Of course it would have nothing to do with this big case that he had on, no of course not… it was all my fault. She didn't like me and Max had said she was 'giving' me another chance, what do I need a second chance for? She was the rude one.

One of the worst parts about keeping this a secret from people at work was I couldn't go and bitch to someone like Mel or Sally and they could give me some advice, I had to keep it all bottled up. The only person I could speak to was Max but I don't want to slate his mother to him as I know that would cause problems and I don't want to tell my mum because I know she will get a little angry and she would take it out on Max at the BBQ next week which I didn't want. I really wish I had someone to vent to about this as it was driving me crazy and putting me in a really bad mood, she was giving me another chance! How generous of her… she should be apologising to me. Not the other way round.

I was put in a slightly better mood knowing that after work I was going to get to spend some time with my lovely boyfriend and he was going to cook us a good decent meal like I knew he would. He was a good cook but I was hoping that we wouldn't be eating on the balcony as it is starting to get a little chilly out in the evenings. Max loved eating on the balcony because you could see the great view he had and also he could spy on some of his neighbours. He is certain that someone in the building he lives in is doing something illegal he just doesn't know what or who it is. It's not common knowledge where he lives that he's a copper so no one is really hiding what they do.

I had been going through CCTV footage that Max had asked me to do but I hadn't found anything so I grabbed a coffee and started making my way up to CID to tell him. Before I got to the door I heard him shouting and getting frustrated, well this news was going to be welcome then. I opened the doors and everyone turned to look at me as they made their way back to their desks "Not now Millie" He said sternly as I approached him.

"The CCTV-" I started but he cut me off.

"I said not now" He repeated but this time he was meaner and louder.

"Sarge" I replied in a way he knew that I was pissed off and stormed out of the office, dropping the CCTV disc on his desk as I went.

If he is not getting a result on this case then that's nothing to do with me, I can't help that. I hate it when he's in a bad mood and he takes it out on me. I wasn't even supposed to be working on this case. I was supposed to be doing warrants today with Ben but on our refs Max asked one of us to look through the CCTV and being the lovely girlfriend that I am I said I would do it, next time he asks me for a favour I am going to tell him where to shove it. I am not being spoken to like that, whether I am his girlfriend or not you do not speak to people like that when they are on your team and going out of their way for you.

After storming out of CID I went back down to the canteen where Ben was sitting with Mel and Nate, who were also on warrants today, I took a seat next to Ben in a huff "What's the matter with you?" Mel asked.

"Max Carter has obviously pissed her off" Ben said.

"He asked one of us to look at some CCTV as a favour, muggings here agreed to do it. I went up to tell him that there was nothing on it and he didn't give me the chance" I told them.

"He's been fighting to get a result on this case but he keeps hitting a brick wall and I heard the DCI is getting fed up with it and told Max, if he doesn't get a result soon then they're pulling the plug on the case as he is using all the funds and pretty much has everyone in CID on it" Mel said.

"That doesn't give him the right to speak to me like that" I stated.

"No it doesn't" Nate replied "Speak of the devil" He said.

"Millie can I have a word please?" Max asked. I got up from my seat and the two of us walked into the corridor and he asked me to follow him into one of the offices. He closed the door and the blinds so no one would see us and he leaned against a table. I stood in front of him with my arms folded and in a bad mood "Look I am really sorry about what I said earlier, I was just stressed and I didn't mean to take it out on you" He said to me.

"Whether I am your girlfriend or just another colleague. You don't speak to people like that Max because that's when people don't want to do favours for you or work cases that you're SIO. I know you want a result on this but everyone is working as hard as they can for you and doing their very best, maybe you should cut them some slack and be a little nicer to them" I explained.

"You're right. I should be nicer and again I am sorry for snapping at you" He told me and held his hands out to me.

I sighed and unfolded my arms. I walked over to him and we hugged "This dinner you cook tonight better be amazing or you are in so much trouble" I said.

"I promise it will be the best dinner you've ever had in your life" He replied.

We pulled away from the hug and he kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and his hands went to my waist and started moving down "Not in here Max" I stated and he moved his hands away from me "Look I better get going, I have more warrants to issue, I'll see you later" I said and kissed him again before leaving the office.

Eventually me and Ben finished our warrants, there wasn't many today but we did them all by the end of our shift and we were the only team that was ready to go on time. Mel and Nate had a rough day, they lost one of their arrests but the did find him again after wasting most of the shift looking for him and then Nate nearly got punched in the face by another one that Mel had to CS Spray. Smithy was trying to be stern with them about losing the first person but it wasn't happening, in the end he just told them to be a little bit more vigilant.

"Millie you coming to the pub?" Mel asked.

"I already have plans, sorry" I replied as I picked up my bad.

"Oh yeah… with who?" She questioned.

"My TV and pizza takeaway" I answered as I walked out of the locker room.

It didn't take me long to drive to Max's place but when I got there I was buzzed straight up. I walked in the front door and something smelled amazing but I noticed that there was no oven on or anything "I got home a little late and didn't have time to cook so I picked up something from Franco" He told me and indicated to the bags of food.

"I guess that will do" I stated.

The two of us enjoyed dinner in his living room and we put on a bit of TV. Max knew I was still a little upset about how he snapped at me earlier and he was trying very hard to make it up to me. He had been offering me wine all night, he washed up the plates when we finished dinner and he was making a little bit of a fuss over me. He knew he messed up "Millie I have to admit, there is another reason I asked you to have dinner here tonight" He said which peeked my interest.

"Oh yeah… why's that?" I asked.

"There has been something that I have wanted to tell you for a little while now and I wasn't sure how to say it… I'm not sure how you're going to react or if you're in that place yourself but I just want you to know" He said and he wasn't making much sense… what did he want to tell me?

"What is it?" I questioned.

"Millie I am in love with you" He told me and I gasped in shock.

"I love you too" I replied instantly and I practically threw myself at him and started kissing him, he kissed me back instantly. Our kiss soon turned heated and we started taking each other's clothes off just to prove how much we love each other.

"What about work in the morning?" He asked as we reached his bedroom.

"I will leave early in the morning" I answered before pushing him into his bedroom and closing the door behind us.


	12. Chapter 12

**Millie  
** When I said I would leave early, I really did have that plan in mind but then when me and Max woke up we got a little distracted and I ended up being late to work. Max said he made it just on time but people noticed he wasn't as early as he normally was. After getting changed into my uniform I walked into the briefing room 10 minutes late which meant I was on patrol with Smithy today as punishment. Of course Smithy wasn't a mean boss and I knew we would have words about my lateness but I was hoping he would be really nice and forgiving as it was the first time I had ever been late… ever. I hadn't come up with a cover story yet, over sleeping and traffic were lame excuses he heard everyday so I needed to be a bit more creative but have something believable.

Me and Smithy went out to the area car and he got in the drivers seat "So PC Brown, do you care to explain why you were late this morning… it's not very you" He said to me as we pulled out of the yard.

"I had a flat tyre and I had to get my neighbour to change it for me. I'm not very good with cars" I told him.

"So the love bite on your neck has nothing to do with it?" He questioned.

"What love bite?" I questioned.

Smithy pulled down the sun blocker and I opened the mirror. On the left side of my neck was a love bite, I hadn't even noticed it this morning when I was getting ready, I am going to kill Max when I see him! "Sarge I'm sorry" I said.

"Don't worry about it, we have all done it. Me probably more then a few times. Just don't make a habit out of it" He told me and I agreed "So… anyone I know?" He questioned. I couldn't lie to him so I just smiled "Ok so it is someone at the station but nobody else was late today… well no one in uniform anyway. Could it possibly be someone from CID?" He questioned "Mickey? Terry? Max? Or maybe you bat for the same team like Jo" He suggested.

"Sarge!" I exclaimed "It's no one… I'm sure if I was sleeping with someone from the station then everyone would know about, especially Mel she is always on top of gossip like that as I'm sure you well know. Anyway it doesn't matter who it is, I won't be late again" I told him.

"I must admit I am intrigued. I tell you what, when Mel notices that she is going to question you like a suspect… she might even record the interview to analyse it" He joked.

"Very funny" I replied.

"Look on a serious note, the only bit of advice I have for you is this; if you are with someone that is a little higher up then don't get involved in the diplomacy of things. Do not let yourself get involved with things you shouldn't be involved in because you are a good copper and you are going places. I would hate to see things get messed up" He explained to me.

"I'll be good, I promise" I replied.

"That's what I like to hear" He stated.

I still cannot believe Max had given me a love bite. The next time I see him I am going to remind him that we were keeping everything quiet about us and I was going to be interrogated by Mel, of that I was sure. She wasn't going to let gossip like this go without a fight so now Max needed to help me come up with some sort of cover story, one that was believable and would get Mel off my back. We had spoke about this and he agreed he wouldn't leave marks where anyone could see them, I was going to kill him!

Me and Smithy came back to the station for refs and Smithy went straight to his office, I was hungry as I had missed breakfast this morning and wanted to go to the canteen but I knew everyone else was going to be in there and they would see my love bite that Max had left. No doubt I would get questioned and it was going to be really embarrassing and uncomfortable for me. I had put a little make up to on to try and cover it but it was no use, it was still noticeable… great.

"So Millie how was your TV and pizza?" Mel asked as I sat down next to her.

"It was fine" I replied.

"From the marks on your neck I would say it was pretty wild" She commented and she started laughing along with Ben, Nate and Sally.

"So who is the lucky guy?" Nate asked.

"Never you mind" I replied.

"Oh c'mon Millie don't take all the joy away from us. Is it someone in the station?" Sally questioned.

"No" I answered.

"You have to tell us who it is" Ben said.

I watched as Max came through to the canteen and I knew he heard what was going on, he stood in line smirking to himself "How was it, he certainly enjoyed himself" Sally stated.

"It was ok" I replied with a shrug. I really hoped he could hear me and I hope he knew I was pissed "Now if you excuse me I have to go and have an adult conversation with someone" I said and stood from my seat. I walked out of the canteen and made my way into the office me and Max had occupied yesterday, he must have known he was in trouble because he walked into the office and locked the door behind him "I am so mad at you right now" I told him.

"What have I done?" He asked in shock.

"Well I was late to work this morning, I was rushing to get ready and I was paired with Smithy as some sort of punishment. I gave him a rubbish excuse and he pointed out my love bite, that I didn't know I had" I explained to him and showed him it "I thought we discussed keeping us quiet. I can't very well do that if you placing love bites on my body so that everyone can see them, it leaves a lot of people curious and I have been grilled by Smithy and Mel already. I know as the day goes on it will probably be a little worse and it is all your fault" I said and crossed my arms over my chest as I finished my rant.

"Have you seen my back?" He asked.

"No" I replied.

He lifted his shirt up to reveal scratches on his back that I had obviously put there, I felt my cheeks start to warm up and I knew they were going red but that did not excuse his behaviour "No one can see those" I stated matter of factly.

"Ok I'm sorry for 'branding' you. I will be more careful next time" He promised.

"You better hope this is gone by the time we go to my parents" I pointed out.

The rest of the shift went on and I was supposed to be seeing Max after work but he came to see me at the end of my shift and told me that he had finally had a breakthrough on the case he was working on and he needed to stay. I was a bit gutted as we really only see each other after work but I knew he had been waiting for a breakthrough on this case so I told him that it was fine, I had gotten so used to spending time with Max outside of work and if he doesn't stay at my place I normally stay at him. I felt a bit lonely in my apartment when I was on my own.

"Millie do you wanna come to the pub with us or do you have booty call tonight?" Mel asked as we were getting changed.

"No I have no plans tonight and I will come for a drink, IF, you all stop with the questions and theories" I said to them.

"Fine Mrs Buzz Kill" Sally replied.

When we got to the pub Nate and Ben went to order a round of drinks in as the rest of us went and found a table we could sit at. I sat around the table with the girls and I realised that it had been a long time since I had done this and apart of me misses it. These people were my best friends and we looked out for each other at work, I don't spend much time with them anymore outside of work and I have no one to blame but myself for that. I have put my boyfriend first and my friends second, which makes me a very horrible friend and person.

Nate and Ben came over with the drinks and everyone started talking amongst themselves about what gossip they had heard, I was out of the loop. I didn't know anything really as the only time I spent with them was at work when we had other things on our minds, like catching the bad guys. Maybe tonight I could remember what it was all about and they might forgive me for being such a bad friend.

"Whoever finished their drink last has to get the next round in" I said to everyone and we all started downing our drinks.


	13. Chapter 13

**Max  
** After weeks of work and dead ends we finally had a lead on the case. We had a witness that had come forward and was willing to talk and testify about the people she knew were involved, Samira Kadhir . Of course we asked her why she hadn't come forward before and she admitted that she was scared but she found her brother's dead body on a landfill site and knew enough was enough. Samira knew a couple of big players and I'm sure once we get them in and let them sweat it out and we will get the top dog, well that what I was hoping for. As this was such a big case with a lot of dangerous people she was immediately put into witness protection and she was going to be leaving London until everyone was caught, arrested and put away. I didn't want anything to happen to our star witness, she held a lot of information and I had no doubt in my mind that she would be killed if anyone found out.

I was in such a good mood with today's turn of events that I decided I would take CID out for a drink down the Seven Bells, where Millie had told me she was going, I did want to see her. I hated cancelling plans on her but she knew how big this case was and that we kept hitting a brick wall evidence wise so I am hoping she will understand and let me off on this one occasion for letting her down. Of course because it was Millie I was going to have some serious making up to do so I had to think of something, she sometimes wasn't he most forgiving of people so I knew it would take a little bit of effort. As it was Millie I didn't mind and I would do anything to make her happy.

When we walked into the Seven Bells I instantly spotted Millie. She was sitting at a table with Mel, Nate, Smithy, Sally, Ben and Callum. She looked like she was having a good time well to be honest she looked a little drunk but at least she was ok and I was here now, I wasn't going to let anything happen to her. I had never seen Millie drunk before so this was going to be a first, of course she had been a little merry after a couple glasses of wine but I had never seen her as she is now. She was taking shots like they were water and then washing it down with some sort of cocktail out of a jug she was sharing with Mel.

Once I brought the round in I went over to the table with Terry, Jo, Mickey and Will in tow. They made room for us and invited us to join them, Smithy had moved over leaving a gap between him and Millie which I took and she smiled at me as she saw it was me "You ok?" I asked her and she nodded with a big drunk smile on her face before taking another shot.

"She is so lucky that she is off tomorrow, she is going to be feeling a little tender" Smithy said to me.

"It's alright for some" I replied.

I watched Millie and saw how truly happy she was talking to her friends, drinking with them and getting involved in the gossip. She seemed different when she was around them and it was starting to make me think that she might be regretting the decision we made to keep things quiet, of course if she wanted to tell them she could. They were her friends and I wouldn't mind. Mel kept teasing Millie about the love bite I had left on her neck and Millie just kept telling Mel to keep her nose out and she wasn't giving any details about it.

Maybe tomorrow when she has sobered up and cured her hangover I can talk to her about maybe speaking to her friends about us. If that was what made her happy then that was ok, I don't want her keeping it secret because she thinks that's what I want… maybe keeping this a secret in the first place wasn't such a good idea "'Scuse me… I need to pee" She said and stood up but she was a little bit wobbly which made her laugh.

"C'mon Millie, I'll help you" Mel said and grabbed her hand and the two went off to the toilets.

"Millie is really knocking them back tonight, I haven't seen her like this… ever" Sally stated.

"Everyone needs to let of a bit of steam every now and again" Smithy replied.

As time went on and it got later and later people started calling it a night, Millie kept trying to persuade them to stay but they all had work in the morning so they left. Eventually it was just me, Mel and Millie. I could tell Mel wanted to go home, she kept looking at her watch and trying to hide her yawns but she didn't want to leave Millie behind "I'll make sure she gets home if you wanna head off" I told her as she looked at her watch for the millionth time "I'm gonna finish this one then go anyway, I won't leave her here on her own. I will walk her to her door if it will make you feel better" I said to her.

"Thanks Sarge… she doesn't normally get like this" She told me as she stood to leave.

"Do you want me to call a cab for you or anything?" I asked her.

"No I'm ok thanks. There's a woman's only cab firm I use so I'll be ok. Please make sure she makes it home, she'll kill me if she thinks I abandoned her" She said.

"Don't worry. You head off" I told her and she thanked me again before leaving. Millie laid her head down on my shoulder and I wrapped my arms around her to make her more comfortable "You are very drunk tonight miss Millie" I stated.

"It's not… like I had anything… better to do" She informed me through hiccups.

"I am sorry I cancelled on you tonight but I promise I will make it up to you… and for giving you the love bite when I shouldn't have" I told her.

"You better" She replied and she yawned.

Eventually I managed to get Millie back to my place, I had work in the morning and I didn't fancy leaving her on her own in case she fell over or something. I carried her into my room and laid her down on the bed, I took her shoes off, her clothes and put one of my t-shirts on her before getting myself ready for bed. As soon as I laid down Millie wiggled over to me and laid her head on my chest and curled into my side, I wrapped my arms around her and placed a kiss on the top of her head "Goodnight Millie, I love you" I said.

"Mmm love you too" She whispered and instantly fell asleep.

When I woke up in the morning I realised I had beaten my alarm so I turned it off so it didn't wake Millie and snuck out of bed, grabbing my clothes for the day as I went. I had a quick shower and dried myself before getting dressed and brushing my teeth. I went into the kitchen and made myself some toast and then I thought about Millie, I grabbed some paracetamol and a glass of water and put it on the bedside cabinet for her. I placed a kiss on the top of her head before sneaking back out of the room and once back in the kitchen I left a note for Millie;

 _Millie  
Gone to work. Hope you don't feel too bad.  
Make yourself at home, I should be home by 7._

 _Love,  
Max xx_

As I was walking out the door my landline started ringing and I did debate answering it but knew if it was my mother or someone like that I wouldn't be able to get off the phone and I would be late. I ignored the call and left my apartment and made my way to work, thankfully there wasn't much traffic this morning but then again it was 7am… I made it to work pretty quickly and as soon as I walked into CID I was thrust into a hard days work.

 **Millie  
** I sat up in bed and instantly regretted it. It felt like there was an elephant dancing on top of my head and I groaned in annoyance, mainly at myself. How could I let myself get into that sort of state. I realised that I wasn't at home but I was at Max's so I'm guessing he took care of me last night but I also noticed that Max was missing from the bed. I looked at the clock and saw it was 10:30am. On the bedside cabinet Max had left some pain killers and water for which I was thankful. I took them then literally dragged myself out of bed to have a shower, maybe that would make me feel better… even a little bit and then I could have some breakfast or a coffee.

After my shower I realised that I didn't have any clothes to wear so I grabbed one of Max's t-shirts and a pair of his boxers to put on. It would have to do for now until I had the energy to put yesterdays clothes in the wash, I saw his note and then made myself some toast, I didn't eat much of it thought as it made me feel a little sick.

I got my phone and decided to give Max a ring "Morning" He said as he answered "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I feel a little rough" I replied "I didn't hear you leave, what time did you go?" I questioned.

"About 6:45" He replied.

"I cannot believe I got so drunk last night, thank you for taking care of me and bringing me back here. I'm also assuming you took my shoes off for me and put me into bed… again thank you" I said to him.

"You're welcome" He replied "Are you staying there until I get home?" He asked.

"Probably" I replied.

"Great. I will grab us something to eat on the way home" He told me.

"Sounds good" I said "Oh you have a message on your answer machine" I informed him.

"Can you write the message down for me and see if they left a name and number, I'll call them when I get in" He said and I agreed "Look I gotta go, love you" He said.

"I love you too" I replied and hung up.

After finding a piece of paper and a pen I went over to Max's answer machine and pressed the play button "You have one new message, message one" The machine lady said.

"Hey Max it's me Helena. I am really hoping that this is still your number. I spoke to your mum and she told me that you had a new girlfriend, I have to admit I am pretty gutted as I thought that me and you would be able to give it another go. You can't just forget and get over the love that we had, we were engaged and getting married for crying out loud. Surely you must feel something for me, if you do then please call me back… my number is the same"

Engaged?


	14. Chapter 14

**Millie  
** Max used to be engaged to someone? He was supposed to be getting married? Why didn't he tell me this? When we spoke about past relationships I was so open with him and I told him everything. Max told me that he had been in a couple relationships but nothing too serious. He lied direct to my face. Was he hoping that I wouldn't find out? What was he scared about? I don't mind if he had been in a serious relationship in the past, that doesn't bother me. It's the fact that he lied direct to my face about it. It just doesn't make sense why he lied about it and I was so confused. I wanted to confront him and ask him why but another part of me wouldn't believe what he told me, I always thought Max would be the one to tell the truth… I just don't understand.

I sat there and replayed the message a couple of times just so that I knew I heard her right and it wasn't a mistake but it was true. Max used to be engaged to this Helena and by the sounds of it she was close with Paulina and it sounds like she still was. I couldn't sit here and torment myself anymore so I went to Max's room and packed up all the stuff I had there and put my jeans on, I didn't care if they drink spilled down the them I just wanted to go. I made sure I had everything before calling a cab and leaving a note for Max, I took one last look at Max's apartment not sure if I was going to be coming back again… this was a big betrayal and it would take a lot to forgive.

When I got home I changed into my baggy comfortable clothes, grabbed some wine and ice cream before slumping on my sofa with the TV on. I really didn't care that it wasn't even midday yet and I was opening my wine, I was stressed out and in a bad mood, besides I have just received some shocking news. There was only half a bottle in there so I couldn't exactly get really drunk off it. I also hear that the best way to get over a hangover was to drink some more and that was what I was going to do! How dare Max lie to me and think he can get away with it? What made him think that I would never find out? I bet Paulina can't wait to see me again so she can rub it in my face how in love they used to be.

Helena. What a stupid name I thought as I drunk some wine and washed that down with some ice cream. I bet Helena was Polish and beautiful and the perfect match for Max. I bet she was the type to be a housewife to him and wanted to have a couple babies. I even bet that it was Paulina that set them up, you could tell in Helena's voice that she had an accent, obviously it was Polish. Just how long ago where they together? What made them split up? How did they meet? Did Max love her more then he loves me now? Could I ever compare to this Helena? I hated this! I need to know why he lied to me about her.

I finished my half bottle of wine by 1pm and knew Max would be going for lunch about now. Should I call him and confront him with what I know? Should I just leave it until he goes home and sees my note? Shall I go back to his place and wait for him to come home? What should I do with this? I was so stressed and confused, I hated it. I couldn't even call anyone to get some advice on what to do, no one knew about us and I totally regret the decision I made to keep it quiet. Right now was the right time that I needed a friend to talk to, this was huge and if I sit in the apartment on my own any longer then I will go crazy.

After much debate with myself I dialled Max's number and he answered straight away "Hey, are you ok?" He said as he answered.

"Your ex fiancée, Helena, called. She wants the two of you to get back together" I stated.

"Millie please before you jump to any conclusions, let me explain" He pleaded.

"There is nothing to explain. You lied to me and told you hadn't really been in a serious relationship. Being engaged to someone is pretty damn serious" I argued back.

"I know and I am sorry I lied to you… I didn't plan it but I didn't want you thinking I still had feelings for her or anything. I am so sorry Millie, really I am" He said to me.

"It's not the fact that you were engaged to someone that bothers me, it's the fact that you lied directly to my face about it. I had to find out about it through your answer machine, you think saying sorry is going to make up for this! You lied to me and for no reason at all" I exclaimed.

"I didn't love her" He told me.

"You were going to marry her, you must have loved her a little bit to put a ring on her finger or does marriage not mean anything to you?" I questioned.

"Karolina had just died and Helena showed up on the scene, we dated and I brought her home. My parents loved her and my mum kept telling me how perfect she was for and how well we were together, my mum wanted us to get married so I proposed. As the wedding got closer I realised it would be unfair for me to marry her because I didn't feel for her what she felt for me. I never was madly in love with her" He explained to me.

"I just don't know what to believe anymore Max" I replied.

"Millie I promise you that I never intended to hurt you with this, I just wasn't sure how to tell you that I nearly became someone's husband. It's not an easy thing to tell someone, I'm sorry I lied to you and I will do anything you want me to so I can make this up to you" He said to me.

"It's going to take more then saying sorry this time Max" I stated and hung up the phone.

I don't know why I even bothered calling him. He doesn't seem to understand how much he has hurt me with his lies, I can't believe I had to find out over a voicemail message! I just want to know why he didn't tell me about her. He said on the phone that he didn't love her but he was going to be her husband, he was going to say vows in church for crying out loud. He must have had some feelings for her, he brought her home to meet his family… you don't do that unless you care for and have feelings for someone. How am I supposed to trust Max if he lies direct to my face?

Ten minutes later the door knocked and I sighed in annoyance, I really didn't want to speak to anyone right now. I dragged myself to the door and opened it to see Max standing there looking all sorry for himself, I just walked away from him and into the living room leaving the door open for him to come in. I sat on the sofa and heard the front door close and heard Max walking towards the living room "Millie I… I don't know what you want me to say or do. I am sorry for not telling you" He said but he just stood in the doorway of the living room facing me.

"You lied to me. When we spoke about our pasts I was completely honest with you! I have never lied to you and to hear on a voicemail that you used to be engaged to someone" I said to him in frustration.

He walked over to the sofa and kneeled down on the floor in front of me "I didn't love her, she was just someone who was there in a bad time. My parents convinced me that Helena was as good as it was going to get and I accepted that" He said to me and grabbed my hands "Please believe me when I say that I have never loved anyone as much as I love you… nowhere near. Helena is nothing to me and I don't want her, I want you" He told me.

Tears started falling down my face "I bet your mum can't wait to rub it in" I stated and pulled my hands out of his "You lied to me and because you've said sorry I'm supposed to forgive you? How would you feel if the roles were reversed? What if it was me who used to be engaged and I kept that a secret from you? How would you feel?" I questioned.

"Probably like you do now" He answered.

Max got up from the floor and sat on the sofa next to me, neither of us spoke. Max had explained his reasons for lying but it still didn't even make sense to me "If I hadn't heard that voicemail, would you have ever told me?" I asked him.

"I don't know… probably not" He answered truthfully.

"At least your being truthful now" I commented.

"Millie I have always been honest with you, it's just this one thing. I promise you that I have never lied about anything else, just this. I know that doesn't make up for what I did but I promise you I love you and I will do whatever I can to make this up to you" He said.

"How can I trust someone who lies to my face?" I questioned.


	15. Chapter 15

**Millie**

Today was my mums birthday BBQ and the first time that Max was going to meet my parents. I was nervous and so was Max but after everything that's happened I didn't even want to go. Me and Max have been working on our relationship after all the issues we had about him lying to me about Helena. He promised me it was the only time he lied and he would do anything he can to prove to me he loved me and only wanted me. I didn't doubt he loved me and I didn't doubt he wanted to be with me, the biggest thing to me in a relationship is trust and Max broke it with his lying. He told me he called Helena and told her to leave him alone but I wasn't present for the conversation so I wasn't sure what was really said.

My mother could read people like a book and I was worried she would notice that me and Max were having issues and she would question me about them, I couldn't lie to her so I would have to tell her the truth. I didn't want her to have a bad opinion of him the first time that they meet, first impressions were everything and if she wasn't 100% satisfied with our relationship then Max would know about it. I obviously didn't want that to happen so me and Max promised each other we would be on our best behaviour and pretend to be the happiest couple in the world that have no problems. It was for only one afternoon so hopefully we could manage it, Max would be fine, he does this stuff at work all the time on cases but I'm more of an open book. The test was really on me.

As Max wanted to make a good impression on my parents he made sure he knew everything he was supposed to know and he made an effort with his outfit. He wore a clean and crisp white shirt with the top two buttons open. He wore a pair of his new jeans that made his bum look great, I picked them out of course, he also put on his new black shoes which were supposed to be for work but I let him wear them for today. It was a special occasion after all. I wasn't sure what to wear at first but I went with a light pink high waisted skirt and a white over sized top tucked into the skirt. I put on my nude kitten heels and left my make up light. Max preferred it when I looked more natural, he said it made me look more beautiful.

When we were ready I made sure we had everything we would need before leaving the apartment, Max insisted we take his new car. It was a Ford Fiesta with a 2014 plate, he had brought it new from the showroom and wanted to drive it everywhere, it was his baby. I had to admit that I did like the car a lot, although it looked small it was really quite spacious on the outside and it was smooth to drive, I was only allowed to drive it the once. Max wanted to show it off obviously so he can prove to them he had the financials to look after their daughter, the car cost nearly £15,000 and you could tell by looking at it.

Thankfully the drive to my parents wasn't all that long so within 10 minutes we had reached our destination, Max pulled into the driveway and cut off the engine. I looked at him and gave him a reassuring smile before we got out of the car. We made our way through the back gate, like my mother had instructed, and walked into the back garden where my parents were already entertaining guests "Hi mum" I said as we approached her, she turned around and hugged me "Happy birthday" I said and kissed her cheek.

"Oh thank you baby" She replied as I handed her a gift bag with her present and card inside.

"Mum this is Max, Max this is my mother Jennifer" I said as I introduced the two.

My mum hugged Max and he hugged her back and kissed her on the cheek "Happy birthday" He said.

"Thank you" She replied "Let's go and see your father" She stated and started walking off towards a crowd, me and Max followed behind her and she reached them before she did "Millie is here with her boyfriend" I heard her tell him.

"Excuse me" He said to the people he was standing with and took the couple of steps towards us.

"Hi daddy" I greeted and hugged him "Dad this is Max, Max this is my dad David" I told him.

The two men shook hands and my dad started asking questions about how work was going and he started talking to Max about CID work. My mum disappeared but came back a few moments later with a beer for Max and a wine for me, Max said he would only have the one as he was driving and he didn't want to wreck his new car. He's been itching to tell someone since we came here it was a new car, he knew my dad liked cars so it started a new conversation between the two of them. Me and my mum started our own conversation but soon my dad and Max disappeared, I'm assuming it was to have a look at Max's car. This was the perfect time for me to ask my mum what she thought of Max now that he wasn't here to listen in.

"So what do you think?" I asked her.

"He seems really nice and hardworking. I know we didn't really want you to be with another police officer but you two seem to be making it work, so far so good" She told me.

"Yeah he's not so bad" I replied.

"Well doesn't sound too convincing" She commented.

"His ex has been causing trouble" I told her.

"Well like I said he seems nice so hopefully he'll tell her to back off" She said "How was it meeting his parents?" She asked.

"His mum, Paulina, she hates me. She kept going on about Max needing a housewife, not a career woman and according to Max, Paulina pushed for Max and the ex Helena to get together in the first place. She's a good Polish girl who is more then willing to be a housewife to Max" I explained to her "His dad seemed really nice though and he seemed like he wanted to get to know me" I added.

"I don't think she hates you, she probably wanted something different for Max like me and your father wanted for you. At the end of the day I'm sure when she realised how happy you and Max are she'll warm up to the you and she won't even remember Helen's name" She said.

"Helena" I corrected.

"It doesn't matter what her name is, Max is in love with you. I can see it in his eyes and I don't think he will stray" She told me.

"You seem to know a lot about him considering you met him ten minutes ago" I stated a little irritated but then I felt bad, it was her birthday after all "Sorry" I said.

"It's ok. I know it can be tough when ex's come out of the woodwork and cause trouble" She told me.

Max and my dad came back, they both looked slightly pleased with themselves. My dad went over to my mother and kissed her and Max made his way over to me "Are you ok?" He asked and I nodded in response, he wrapped his arm around me and placed a kiss on the top of his head "Your parents seem a lot better then mine" He commented.

"My mum likes you, she thinks you're really nice and you seem hardworking" I said.

"Your dad is pretty cool, he was telling about some of the cars he's owned in the past. Some real classics. I showed him the new car and I think he was impressed with it, especially when I told him how much it cost" He said.

For the rest of the party me and Max mingled with family and friends, I introduced him to everyone and everyone seemed to think he was really nice. There were no dramas and both of my parents seemed happy with him, it went better then I expected it to go but me and Max decided that we should go when it reached 10pm. Mainly because the wine was started to have an effect on me, Max was getting a little bored as everyone was drinking but him and we both had work tomorrow so after saying goodbye to my parents we slipped out.

As Max pulled out of the driveway we smiled at each other, today couldn't have gone better. My parents seemed to like him and he seemed to like them. We managed to act like we didn't have any problems going on behind closed doors and my mum reassured me that Max loved me "Shall I take you home?" He asked as he started driving.

"No, let's go to your place" I replied with a smiled which Max matched.

Max stopped the car in his normal parking space and sitting on the curb outside the building was a woman with long brown hair, she noticed the car and stood up. She was wearing a black playsuit matched with some wedges. I had to admit that she was a beautiful woman, I looked over at Max who looked like he had just seen a ghost "Who is it?" I asked him.

"Helena" He replied


	16. Chapter 16

**Max  
** Me and Millie sat in the car just staring at Helena, she had noticed us but she didn't move from where she stood. I was shocked that Helena was even here after I told her that I didn't want to see or speak to her again on the phone. Millie opened the car door and got out slamming the door behind her, I followed her out of the car just in case anything was going to happen. Helena looked between me and Millie, this was the first time Helena had seen Millie and she was obviously sizing up her competition. Helena looked down at the floor not saying a word and Millie was giving her daggers "What are you doing here Helena?" I asked her to get this conversation done and dusted with.

"I came here to see you. I wanted to talk to you… about us" She replied in her strong Polish accent.

"There is no us Helena, I am with Millie and I love her" I replied and I grabbed Millie's hand as a sign on truth.

"She can't be what you really need or want. Your mother told me all about her and I know that she cannot make you happy. We were together for a long time, you forget that I know you Max. I was there during your darkest hour and it's things from that time that we need to talk about" She said.

"Oh I would love to know" Millie stated.

"I just want to speak to Max" Helena said to Millie.

"And I want to be a millionaire… we can't all be happy" Millie replied angrily.

"Max there is something that you need to know. I don't think it's something that your new girlfriend should hear" She told me.

"Just say whatever it is you want to say then leave" I stated.

"Fine but if she isn't happy then you can't blame me" She told me "Yesterday afternoon I had some cocaine posted through my door, there was a note that said 'from Charlie'. You an I both know who this is Max and I don't want him in my life anymore… that's why I came here. I know that you would be able to help me like you always do, you always come to my rescue" She explained to me.

"Who's Charlie?" Millie asked.

"Charlie is a drug dealer who deals in cocaine… hence the name Charlie" I told her.

"How do you know him? Did you arrest him once?" Millie questioned.

"Quite the opposite really, Max used to buy off him" Helena said.

"Helena please shut up a minute" I said to her before turning to Millie "Look I can explain everything, I promise you but please don't start jumping to conclusions" I pleaded with her.

Millie looked at me like she had just been slapped in the face. I sighed in annoyance and turned back to Helena who was looking pretty pleased with herself "I can't help you with Charlie. I am a police officer and if I tell them you're getting drugs through your letterbox to you back on cocaine then they will start asking questions. It won't take them long to figure out that I was on cocaine when I was in uniform, I could lose my job and all arrests I've made since could be questioned and the ones in prison could be released" I explained to her "If you're worried then get yourself a dog or something" I added.

"What if they don't let it go, you know how Charlie can be" She said.

"I'm sorry I can't help you. Now you need to go" I told her.

"I only got on the stuff because of you!" She shouted at me before throwing a packet of white powder on the floor and storming off.

I knew in that it was cocaine in the packet and I couldn't leave it here laying on the street so I walked over to it and picked it up "Millie come upstairs so that we can talk, I need to explain things to you" I said to her and held my hand out to her.

This was not what I needed right now. Things with Millie were getting back on track and now Helena shows up and tells Millie about my history with drugs which I would rather keep in my history and never speak about again. Helena must have done this on purpose, she planned this to try and split me and Millie up, I bet my mother was in on this as well. She knew about my past drug issue, it was her that sent me to rehab in the first place. Her and Helena must have cooked this up together.

When me and Millie got into my apartment I put the cocaine down the toilet before going into the living room where Millie was pacing around. I can't begin to imagine what is going through her head right now but I bet it's not good at all, I can't believe all of this is being dragged back up again. I thought when I got back from rehab all of this was left in the past and I got a clean slate… clearly not with Helena around.

"You better start explaining yourself right now Max or I swear to God I am walking out that door and I will not be coming back" She said angrily.

"Millie sit on the sofa… please. I will explain everything and answer anything you want to know" I told her.

After staring at me for a few moments Millie finally sat down on the sofa as far away from me as possible as if I was diseased or something "When Karolina died I was in a bad place, I was going out most nights to get drunk and forget about things but the alcohol wasn't helping. I wanted something stronger so after speaking to a couple of informants I got the number for a drug dealer, Charlie. I told him I was a copper but I was there to do trade and he didn't seem to mind, he gave me what I wanted when I wanted. After testing a few things cocaine did the best job on me and after a couple weeks I was hooked on them. I got with Helena and I got her to do them with me, I didn't want to do them on my own because it made me feel like a loser" I explained to her.

"You were a drug addict?" She asked me.

"Not for long. My mother started noticing that there was something going on and she spoke to Helena… she ratted me out to my mother and she sent me to rehab" I told her.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this? Why did I have to hear this from Helena? I thought we agreed that there would be no more secrets" She said and stood up from the sofa, she started pacing around again.

"Millie I'm sorry for not telling you but I wanted it to stay in the past. There was never a time to tell you everything and to be honest telling your girlfriend you used to be drug addict is not a conversation you ever wanna bring up" I explained to her.

"So Helena telling me was the best way?" She questioned.

"I didn't think that this would happen" I admitted.

"Well it did!" She snapped "How many more secrets are there Max? How many more times is Helena going to tell me your secrets?" She questioned and I could see she was trying to hold back tears.

I got up from the sofa and approached her but she took a step back from me "Millie please… don't be like this" I pleaded with her.

"I don't know how much more I can put up with" She said as tears fell down her cheeks "Being in a relationship is hard enough without people knowing but all of this on top… You're not making this easy" She added.

"I'm not trying to make things difficult" I replied.

"I want to go home" She stated.

"Millie-" I started but Millie cut me off.

"Please Max, I just wan to go home" She said sounding exhausted.

I knew there was no point and trying to get her to stay so I agreed to drive her home, when we got to her place I pulled up and stopped the car. Me and Millie sat there in silence for a few minutes, neither of us really knowing what to say, I never wanted Millie to find this out. I knew it was going to change her opinion of me from now on… I never wanted any of this to happen.

"I think you need to think about any other skeletons in the closet you have" She said sadly before getting out of the car.


End file.
